India has begun laying the groundwork for 5G spectrum auctions scheduled for 2022. India is the world’s second-largest telecoms market, with telecom operators intending to put out 5G mobile services by 2022-23. It is expected that 5G will add $450 billion to the Indian economy, boosting the speed of development and creating jobs. It will aid in the digitization of the economy, the growth of the startup environment, better governance, and the ease of doing business in the country. All leading telecom companies, including Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vi are testing their 5G networks under different trials. The government is also discussing with telcos and other stakeholders on the 5G spectrum auctions that will be undertaken this year.
In 5G-centric technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), robotics, and cloud computing, India will require 22 million qualified professionals by 2025. With an ever-growing subscriber base, the sector has seen a lot of investment and development. According to data supplied by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), FDI inflow into the telecom sector totaled $37.97 billion from April 2000 to March 2021. The telecom companies have been given extended time upto May 2022 to test their 5G networks, it could be possible for them to fast-track the commercial rollout of 5G. Or, like Jio has done in the past with beta testing its 4G-only network, telcos could roll out 5G services in a limited manner before a wider commercial rollout. As part of the roll-out, India is aiming to increase its fiber backbone to 2.5 million kilometers (1.6 million miles) by 2022 from 1.5 million kilometers right now. Unlike existing coverage-based rollout obligations, considering deployment of 5G network in 3300-3670 MHz and 24.25-28.5 GHz bands, easy network deployment-based roll-out conditions have been recommended for these bands.