5G spectrum can wait, says telecom minister Manoj Sinha

Telecom minister Manoj Sinha has said that the Indian government is thinking against selling airwaves that support 5G technology, considering that 5G is still a work in progress even in foreign countries.

In an interview to ET, Sinha said that aid the government is yet to decide on the time frame for the next auction, and is not prepared for selling 5G airwaves as of now.

Also read: 50,000 villages yet to get mobile network: Manoj Sinha

He also talked about the enmity between Reliance Jio Infocomm and other players of Indian telecom market, saying that this resentment towards Jio was expected, given that a new entrant always faces resistance from existing players.

He added that Jio’s entry has proven to be beneficial for the consumer.

Mentioning the debt that telecom sectors have from banks, he said that the telecom ministry ensures the economic wellbeing of the sector, using its rights under the regulatory framework.

Talking of the tension between Jio and other existing players, he said that even though the tiff was expected, the sector will most likely emerge from these ups and downs.

When asked about the broad focus points for the telecom ministry over the coming two to three years, he said that the first focus is to connect the unconnected, after which there are plans to take Wi-Fi to all gram panchayats.

He also mentioned the achievement of BharatNet, ministry’s ambitious project to make wi-fi available to 250,000 gram panchayats, saying that 226,446 km of pipe has been laid, 204,322 km cable has been laid, 90,564 gram panchayats have been covered and by 30th April, 100,000 gram panchayats will be covered by optical fibre.

He mentioned December 2018 to be the possible deadline for covering all 250,000 gram panchayat.