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5G spectrum auctions date has finally been announced. The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the spectrum auction by Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to assign spectrum to telecom operators for a successful 5G rollout in India.
The 5G spectrum auction will be held by the end of July. While the official date for commercial rollout by telecom operators is unknown, some reports suggest that 5G rollout in India will take place later this year. However, not everyone will get access to 5G network immediately.
The DoT, in its press release, stated that 5G will be rolled out first in only 13 major cities in India. These include Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Gandhinagar, Gurugram, Jamnagar, Hyderabad, Pune and Lucknow.
More cities and rural areas will be added to the list eventually. This also raises the question of whether one should buy a 5G smartphone now in India.
As stated above, 5G network is likely to not be available for all of India's population immediately after the rollout. Buying a 5G smartphone now will purely depend on a couple of scenarios, one of which is obviously if the city you reside in is a part of the first phase of 5G rollout. So, if you are living in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Gurugram, Chennai, Pune, or any of the cities mentioned above, you could get a chance to try the next-generation network provided you have a 5G phone.
It is also worth noting that your 5G phone should include 5G bands that your telecom operator will provide for 5G network. Smartphones in India come with as many as 13 5G bands, with most of them featuring n41, N77 and n78.
Along with the prerequisites above, also check whether a 5G smartphone, especially one in the budget segment, does not compromise on what you primarily need from your phone. Budget 5G smartphones often compromises in other areas like camera, display, fast charging, etc., in order to provide 5G network support. A 4G smartphone that is good enough to meet all your requirements is still better than a 5G phone that does not serve the purpose. Make your purchase decision once you analyse all these points.
You should also note that 5G will not be cheap. Telecom operators have invested a huge sum to test and make 5G networks available across the country. We still do not know the prices of various 5G recharge plans in India. Airtel's Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Randeep Sekhon, had previously said that 5G plans in India are expected to be priced similar to the 4G plans we are paying for currently. Chances are that telecom operators will offer 5G recharge plans at a discounted price to get customers onboard. Later, much like 4G plans, there could be a price hike once customers get used to high-speed data.
The race to roll out 5G network began last year when the DoT gave permission to telecom operators to carry out 5G network tests in various cities. Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea and Airtel were permitted to carry out tests in limited capacity at certain frequencies in select regions. The telecom operators were also advised to use indigenous 5G gear for the test.
For the upcoming spectrum auction, several low, mid and high frequency bands will be up for grabs. The government announced a total auction of 72097.85 MHz of spectrum with 20 years validity by July-end will be put to auction. These include 600 MHz, 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 3300 MHz, and 26 GHz.
While there is no official word, reports suggest that telecom operators will roll out 5G network commercially later this year. Some reports claimed that the 5G rollout date in India for commercial use is August 15. However, looking at the timeline for the spectrum auctions, the date seems unlikely. We can still hope to see telcos roll out 5G network by the end of this year.
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