The race to roll out 5G services in India has officially begun. Reliance Jio is one of the significant forerunners in this race and the company is now expected to launch its 5G services on August 15 in India.
Let us look at all that we know about 5G and its rollout in India.
5G Spectrum Auctions: What went down
The 2022 5G spectrum auctions have been completed and all the companies have been allocated the spectrum they bid for. Reliance Jio has been making quite a buzz for a pan India 5G rollout in 2022 and it has been positioned in the market because it has bought the highest 5G spectrum, has built its own 5G stack, and is also planning to bring support for India’s 5Gi standard.
What does Reliance Say?
Jio is planning to celebrate the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav with a 5G rollout across India. Reliance will launch its 5G services on August 15, 2022, on India’s 76th Independence Day.
“Jio is committed to offering world-class affordable 5G and 5G enabled services. We will provide services, platforms, and solutions that will accelerate India’s digital revolution, especially in crucial sectors like education, healthcare, agriculture, manufacturing, and e-governance”Akash Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Jio. The company further stated, “Jio is fully ready for the 5G rollout in the shortest period of time because of its nationwide fiber presence, all IP-network with no legacy infrastructure, indigenous 5G stack, and strong global partnerships across the technology ecosystem.”
However, this announcement could be a pilot test in select metro cities or locations across India. It will take a month or two for Jio to fully roll out its 5G services in prominent cities in India. And a phased rollout in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities could then follow in the coming year.
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Jio 5G Bands in India
In the 5G auctions conducted by the Department of Telecommunications in India, Reliance Jio has acquired 24.7GHz of spectrum for Rs. 88,078 crores. It has made Jio, the highest bidder having the largest spectrum pan-India.
Jio has bought a 5G spectrum in all popular frequency bands- 700MHz (n28), 800MHz ((n5), 1800MHz (n3), 3300MHz (n78), and 26Ghz (n258), which is the most premium of them all.
The 700MHz band was one of the most sought-after bands as it will allow the companies to take 5G to rural areas in India and offer low-cost 5G services to the masses. Though it will not give the highest speeds, it will cover long distances and provide faster downloads than 4G. Jio has already made it clear that it will aim to provide 5G services all over India, touching every nook and corner of the country. It has bought the 700Mhz band across all the 22 circles in India and some 800MHz bands in 4 circles.
In the mid-band sub 6Ghz frequency band, Jio has bought 2x 10MHz in the 1800MHz band in 6 important circles. The brand has also bought 100MHz in the 3300MHz band for all the 22 circles, making it the largest 5G telecom operator in India.
In terms of the mmWave 5G bands, Jio has acquired 1000MHz in the 26GHz frequency band, again in all 22 circles. The table below shows the list of Jio’s 5G band allocation in India.
Jio 5G cities in India
The company is planning to roll out 5G in 9 cities in the first phase. These cities are Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Chennai, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Jamnagar.
More cities might be added to this list soon.
Will users need a new 5G Jio Sim card?
As of now, none of the telecom companies in India, has said that you will need a new SIM to access 5G network in India. So if you have a Jio 4G simcard, you will be able to use 5g services without any problem or upgrade.
Jio 5G Upload/Download Speeds
Jio has conducted 5G trials in 8 cities till date and the speeds that have been clocked vary. Jio has built its own 5G network stack using Open-RAN tech with Radisys by using equipment from different vendors. It will be a win win situation if this infrastructure performs at par with other fully stacked 5G architecture.
5G Plans in India by Reliance Jio
Although no official 5G plans have been announced by Jio as of now, but reports claim that the prices will be competitive. It is expected that the prices will be somewhere between Rs. 400 to Rs. 500 per month. Currently, Jio’s average revenue per user is around Rs. 175. Jio might introduce a two tier 5G plan for sub-6Ghz and mmWave 5G services.
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