5G To Rollout In 25 Cities In India This Year: How Much Will It Cost?

The 5G trials in India are nearly over and the government has approved the much-awaited 5G spectrum auction to take place by July end. Given that the 5G spectrum will be auctioned as soon as next month, the 5G network will expand at a fast rate across the width and breadth of the country. Within a few months of auctioning the spectrum, the 5G service will be rolled out officially in the country.

The auction will let the telecom operators lease required spectrums for 20 years and roll out a 5G network. The Union Telecom Minister of India, Ashwini Vaishnaw recently confirmed that the network will be rolled out by August-September. Now, the minister has confirmed more details regarding the same.

Notably, the government will auction the 5G spectrum totaling 72GHz across frequency bands such as 600MHz, 700MHz, 800MHz, 900MHz, 1800MHz, 2100MHz, 2300MHz, 3300MHz, and 26GHz.

5G Rollout In India

The union minister has confirmed that the 5G network will be rolled out to 20-25 cities across the country by the end of 2022. However, the recent government release post a media summit hosted on June 18 has revealed only 13 cities that will get the 5G networks in the first phase. These cities include Bengaluru, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Delhi, Chennai, Pune, Jamnagar, Gandhinagar, Mumbai, Chandigarh, and Ahmedabad.

5G Price In India

Furthermore, the IT minister also clarified that the 5G data prices in India would be significantly lower than the average cost of the same in the global markets. The report highlights that the current data prices in India are nearly $2 (approx. Rs. 155) while the global average of the same is $25 (approx. Rs. 1,900). He noted that the 5G tariff in India will also be similar to that of 4G networks.

This falls in line with a statement by Randeep Sekhon, Airtel CTO this year. The executive claimed that the 4G and 5G tariffs in India might not be largely different and we will know the final costs after the spectrum auction.

At the summit, the minister also stated that the average data consumption in India is 18GB per month, which is higher than the global average, which stands at 11GB per month. However, it still lags behind many countries.