Call it a marketing gimmick but you bought a 5G smartphone in India without any 5G infrastructure around. Well, it turns out 5G services are expected to launch in India on October 12. Ashwini Vaishnaw – Union Communications, Electronics, and Information Technology, hinted at the October 12 launch when he mentioned that the 5G services in India are expected to launch (on October 12) as the telecom carriers are working tirelessly to get the installation and allied services done.
5G Services To Launch in India On October 12
As per what we know so far, the 5G services in India will target both Urban and Rural populations and the Union Minister has assured us that they will remain affordable. As a part of the rollout plans, the list of the first phase of cities where 5G will be launched initially is out as well which includes 13 cities.
Once the 5G network rolls out, it will offer an ultra-high-speed network that is marketed as ten times that of the current-gen 4G networks. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has received a sum of INR 17,876 crore from all the telecom carriers in India including Vodafone Idea (Vi), Adani Data Networks, Reliance Jio, and Bharti Airtel as the major players who took the recent 5G spectrum auction up the roof.
Moving on, the Union Minister has stated that the government plans to serve 5G networks across Urban and Rural regions in two to three years. Bharti Airtel mentioned that it plans to cover key rural areas and towns by March 2024 whereas Vi is also working on a rapid 5G upgrade. Reliance Jio is expected to launch its 5G services at the upcoming AGM meeting.
List of Cities To Get 5G Services Initially
As a part of the upcoming 5G announcement, these are the 13 cities where 5G will be available as per the first phase of the rollout. Other cities will get their hands on 5G services at a later date.
- Ahmedabad
- Bengaluru
- Chennai
- Chandigarh
- Delhi
- Gurugram
- Gandhinagar
- Hyderabad
- Jamnagar
- Kolkata
- Lucknow
- Mumbai
- Pune
Note that even though these cities are expected to get 5G services to post the launch in India, it doesn’t mean it will be available pan-city. Perhaps, 5G coverage is limited due to some factors including the availability of 5G antennas which are crucial for the network, however, it is a massive effort to erect antennas after a few hundred meters since it is required for 5G networks. Thus, some parts of these cities will get their hands on 5G for the initial launch followed by other parts.
How To Check If Your Phone Supports 5G
It’s quite easy to check if your phone has 5G support or not. First up, your phone is already being marketed with a 5G branding i.e. Vivo T1 5G or OnePlus 10 Pro 5G. If that doesn’t ring any bells, you can check out your phone’s “Settings >> WiFi & Networks >> SIM & Networks >> Preferred Network Type >> 2G/3G/4G/5G”. If you can see 5G here, it means your phone supports it too, the opposite is true as well.
