5G services to be affordable in India

Telecom companies have been working on rolling out 5G for a long time; we can expect the service to be officially available in a few months. Some reports indicate that Jio and Airtel will launch their 5G services later this month in the first phase. Vi is also working hard to join the league soon. So how much do you need to pay to use 5G services in India?

While telecom carriers are yet to confirm pricing, Airtel CEO Gopal Vittal recently told India Today Tech that Airtel's 5G pricing in India would be almost on par with 4G plans. "We will know the final costs only after the spectrum auction. If you look at other markets, where operators are already proving 5G, we haven't seen them charging a premium for it over 4G," he said during an interaction a few months ago.

Jio and Vi haven't publicised too many details about 5G pricing in India. But we believe that Jio and Vi's 5G plans will be competitive with Airtel's. Countering previous reports that 5G plans will be much more expensive than 4G plans, we can expect 5G services to be affordable initially.

There is still no clarity yet, and it remains a secret. However, some reports suggest that Airtel and Jio will launch their first phase of 5G services by the end of the year. At the same time, other reports indicate that 5G services will be officially launched at the end of this year, with a broader rollout occurring in the early part of next year.

According to a recent survey by Ookla, about 89 per cent of smartphone users in India are ready to upgrade to 5G. The survey shares that most people plan to upgrade to 5G once the service is available in their respective areas. They would also consider switching carriers if necessary.