5G launch in India by Jio, Airtel and Vodafone

The launch of 5G services in India by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 1st  signifies the start of the use of the country’s next-generation network. However, 5G services won’t be instantly accessible over the entire nation.

The 5G services will be rolled out in a phased manner. The 13 cities where 5G networks will be launched first include Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Gandhinagar, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Jamnagar, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai and Pune.

Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea demonstrated use cases of 5G technology for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to show the potential of 5G technology in India. The new India “will not remain a simple consumer of technology, but India will play an active part in the creation and deployment of that technology,” stated Modi in his keynote speech at the sixth India Mobile Congress (IMC).

What is 5G?

5G is the next generation mobile network capability that can facilitate transmission of a large set of data at a high speed. In comparison to 3G and 4G, 5G has a lower latency, making it more efficient at processing a specific volume of data with a short delay. This will improve user experiences across a variety of industries. The speed of 5G could surpass that of 4G by up to ten times. The implementation of 5G is also anticipated to advance remote data monitoring in industries including mining, manufacturing, telemedicine, and storage, among others.

Check this out: Nepal Telecom started eSIM for the first time in Nepal

What Telecom Operator is saying about 5G implementation?

Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries (RIL), said Jio will deliver the fifth-generation (5G) mobile network to every city, town, village and taluka across India by December 2023-end.

“India may have started late, but it will finish first by ensuring 5G rollout across the nation,” he said. 

To begin with, Jio will launch 5G services in four metro cities — Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta and Chennai. Sunil Mittal, chairman of Bharti Enterprises, said pan-India 5G services will be rolled out by March 2024.

“Bharti Airtel is working with speed and courage to bring 5G services to many cities by March 2023, and the entire country by March 2024,” said Mittal.

Kumar Mangalam Birla, who owns a minority stake in Vodafone Idea, said the company will leverage its strong presence in rural India and network of technology partners to roll out 5G services in “the coming period.”