At the Viva Technology 2022 event, Union Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said India would have full-fledged 5G services by March next year.

In an exclusive interview with ANI, Vaishnaw said the 5G spectrum auction would be completed by the end of July, adding: “Telecoms are a major source of digital consumption, and it is important to bring trusted solutions to telecoms. India has its own stack of 4G like radio, equipment, and phones are all the same. 4G is ready to be deployed in the field, 5G is ready to be deployed in the lab, and 5G will be ready for deployment in March 2023.

“India should build the technology and core network behind 5G services; it will be an achievement for the country,” Ashwani Vaishnaw said.

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has finally approved the Department of Telecommunications (DoT)’s 5G spectrum auction, which will allocate spectrum to bidders to provide 5G services to the public and businesses.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Communications, telecom service providers are expected to use the mid and high-band spectrum to launch services based on 5G technology, capable of delivering about ten times the speed and capacity available via the current 4G service.

The minister said the auction of the 5G spectrum would be completed by the end of July. “After the auction, we will negotiate with telecom service providers and provide 5G services as soon as possible,” Vaishnaw said. Regarding the 5G spectrum auction response, the minister said he hoped the 5G auction would receive a good response from 5G service providers.