- The Finance Minister has announced that the
5G spectrum auction will be completed in 2022. - Commercial rollout of 5G will begin in 2022-23.
- The government has also announced a production-linked incentive scheme for 5G.
Sitharaman further added that the commercial rollout of
HFCL could be one of the beneficiaries of this announcement since it makes optical fibre cables.
Making the announcement, Sitharaman specifically mentioned private players, which suggests that the state-run telco, BSNL, is still a ways away from getting access to the next-gen telecom technology.
“The required spectrum auctions will be conducted in 2022 to facilitate roll out of 5G mobile services within 2022-23 by private telecom operators,” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.
In addition to this, Sitharaman also added that a production-linked incentive scheme will also be announced to push 5G technology in the country. It will be focused on design-led manufacturing.
The finance minister also announced that 5% of the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) would be allocated for research and development (R&D) along with commercialisation of technology aimed at improving the proliferation of broadband to the rural areas of the country. USOF is collected from telcos, who pay 5% of their adjusted gross revenue to the government towards this.
“All villages should have the same access to communication facilities as urban areas,” Sitharaman added.
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