5G to roll out soon! Centre requests telecom operators to prepare for launch

New Delhi, Aug 18: The Government has issued spectrum allocation letters to telecom service providers while asking them to prepare for the rollout of 5G services in the country.

"5G update: Spectrum assignment letter issued. Requesting TSPs to prepare for 5G launch," Union Minister for Communications, Electronics and Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw said in a post on local-microblogging site Koo.

With this spectrum allotment, India is in the final stage of rolling out high-speed 5G telecom services.

Sunil Bharti Mittal, the founder and chairman of Bharti Enterprises, said that Bharti Airtel received the letter allocating its share of the spectrum just hours after paying the Department of Telecom in advance.

This is the first time ever that the Department of Telecom (DoT) has handed out a spectrum allocation letter on the day of making an upfront payment.

"Airtel paid ₹ 8,312.4 crore towards spectrum dues and was provided with the allocation letter for the designated frequency bands within hours. E band allocation was given along with spectrum as promised. No Fuss, No Follow Up, No running around the corridors and No tall claims. This is the ease of doing business at work in its full glory," Mittal said in a statement.

Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his address to the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on Independence Day said India's 'techade' is here as the government is focusing on technologies such as 5G, semiconductor manufacturing and optical fibre cables.

These technologies, PM Modi said, will bring about a revolution at the grassroots level.

"India's techade is here! With 5G, semiconductor manufacturing and OFCs in villages, we are bringing a revolution through Digital India to the grassroots level," he said at Red Fort.