Question : 5G Technology

(a) whether the Government proposes to implement 5G technology across the country;

(b) if so, the details thereof along with the details of the preparations made by the Government in this regard and the time by which it is likely to be done;

(c) whether 3G and 4G services have been rolled out properly across the country; and

(d) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor along with the efforts made by the Government to provide modern communication services in all parts of the country including the Mahasamund district of Chhattisgarh?

MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS, LAW & JUSTICE AND ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
(SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

(a) & (b) Based on inter-ministerial High-Level Forum for 5G India 2020 report, the Government is creating an enabling framework for the launch of 5G services in India. The 5G Services are expected to be introduced gradually and advance to a full range of services as the ecosystem and demand for services grows.

(c) & (d) The 3G and 4G services have been rolled out in the country and currently more than 95% population is covered by 3G/4G services. In order to facilitate expansion of telecommunication services, the Department of Telecommunications has initiated a series of policy initiatives and deployment program as below:

a) Making available sufficient spectrum for mobile services including auction of 965Mhz across different bands (700, 800, 900, 1800, 2100, 2300 and 2500MHz bands) in 2016.
b) Allowing spectrum sharing, trading and liberalization of administratively allocated spectrum as per guidelines.
c) Permitting sharing of active as well as passive infrastructure by the Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) for achieving higher utilization efficiency.
d) Permitting Internet Protocol (IP) based interconnections between TSPs in addition to the prevailing arrangements.
e) Notification of Indian Telegraph Right of Way Rules 2016 in November 2016 for regulating underground infrastructure (Optical Fiber) and over-ground infrastructure (Mobile Towers).
f) Periodic review of expansion of mobile networks and related improvement carried out by TSPs.