Indian masses have to wait one more year to use 5G technology
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New Delhi: Indian masses have to wait one more year to use the 5G technology as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday announced that 5G mobile services for the masses will be available in 2023 only.
During her Union Budget 2022-23 speech, Sitharaman said that Spectrum auctions will be conducted in 2022 to facilitate the roll-out of 5G mobile services within 2022-23 by private telecom provider.
Even though India is yet to use 5G bands for communication, people are gearing up for it with new smartphones that are 5G-ready sans the technology.
According to the IDC, India was the third-largest 5G smartphone market globally with 7 per cent of worldwide 5G shipments, shipping 10 million units at an ASP (average selling point) of $401 in the third quarter of 2021.
From January-September 2021, 17 million 5G smartphones were shipped to India and the number was expected to reach 30 million for the full year. India's smartphone market is already primed for 5G access. Nearly every major smartphone maker in India sells 5G phones.
The Finance Minister said that all villages and their residents should have the same access to e-services, communication facilities, and digital resources as urban areas and their residents.
"The contracts for laying optical fibre in all villages, including remote areas, will be awarded under the Bharatnet project through PPP in 2022-23. Completion is expected in 2025. Measures will be taken to enable better and more efficient use of the optical fibre," Sitharaman noted.