Ahead of 5G service launch, govt says targeting to cover entire country in 2 years

The 5G services – which will be launched next month – will be expanded to cover the entire country over the next two years, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Sunday.

“Very soon 5G services will be launched & our target will be to, practically cover the entire country with 5G services within 2 years. Investment of around 35 billion USD for 5G. Digital health initiatives will be available to all,” Vaishnaw, who heads the electronics and information technology ministry, was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

5G services in India will be launched at the India Mobile Congress on October 1, people aware of the matter had told Hindustan Times on Saturday.

The launch comes a month after all telecom service providers were asked to prepare for the roll-out of the service. Reliance Industries Ltd had earlier said that it would invest ₹2 lakh crore to roll out its 5G services in key cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata by Diwali and across India by December next year.

The four-day event will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi where leading telecom companies including Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea will detail their 5G plans for the country.