5G to offer 10 times faster speed and lag-free connectivity: PM Narendra Modi

During his Independence Day address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke on various technological developments, including the launch of 5G in India. As highlighted by PTI, the prime minister said that the 5G mobile network, "which holds the promise of offering 10 times faster speeds and lag-free connectivity", will arrive in the country soon. He also emphasized the government's vision to push electronic chips and expand the fiber optic cable (OFC) network in villages to enable "digital entrepreneurship." He sees the current decade as "techade" for India.

During the Independence Day celebration at Red Fort, New Delhi, Prime Minister Modi said that India is moving towards the 5G era. He added: "[We] won't have to wait for long. We are taking optical fibre to every village. I have full knowledge that the dream of Digital India will pass through villages."

Prime Minister Modi's words on 5G come days after the Ministry of Communications' DoT (Department of Telecommunications) concluded India's largest 5G spectrum auction. Four big tech players participated in the auction: Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Vi and Adani Networks. The government sold 5G bands worth Rs 1.5 lakh crore.

Earlier this month, Airtel claimed that it would start rolling out 5G in India in August. Reliance Jio president Akash Ambani has also hinted as much, but more details are awaited. The Adani Group, on the other hand, will build private 5G networks for businesses and will not build a network for regular customers yet. Vi has not yet offered further details.

Prime Minister Modi also praised the development of four lakh common service centres in rural areas. This government scheme aims to accelerate the vision of Digital India. In addition to faster internet speeds for media consumption, 5G will enable solutions such as e-health, connected vehicles, more immersive augmented reality, metaverse experiences, life-saving use cases, and advanced mobile cloud gaming, among others. It will also boost the government's CSC (Common Service Center) scheme.