Budget 22-23: 5G Services To Be Launched by March 2023; PPP Contracts for BharatNet To Be Awarded in FY23: Sitharaman
Moneylife Digital Team 01 February 2022
Mobile phone users in India, who are eagerly waiting for the fifth generation (5G) telecom network, the wait only got longer till March next year. The spectrum auction, necessary for 5G, would be conducted in 2022 so that telecom services-providers can roll out 5G services by March 2023. While presenting the Union Budget for 2022-23, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman stressed that telecommunications can enable growth and offer job opportunities. 
 
She says, "Telecommunications in general, and 5G technology in particular, can enable growth and offer job opportunities. Required spectrum auctions will be conducted in 2022 to facilitate the roll-out of 5G mobile services within 2022-23 by private telecom providers."
 
 
Even though India is yet to use 5G bands for communication, people are gearing up for it with new smartphones that are 5G-ready sans the technology. From January-September 2021, 17 million 5G smartphones were shipped to India and the number was expected to reach 30 million for the full year.
 
The finance minister also announced the launch of a scheme for design-led manufacturing to build a strong ecosystem for 5G as part of the production linked incentive (PLI) scheme.
 
To enable affordable broadband and mobile service proliferation in rural and remote areas, Ms Sitharaman allocated 5% of annual collections under the Universal Service Obligation Fund. "This will promote research and development (R&D) and commercialisation of technologies and solutions," she added. 
 
The FM says, "Our vision is that all villages and their residents should have the same access to e-services, communication facilities, and digital resources as do the urban areas and their residents." 
 
She says, the contracts for laying optical fibre in all villages, including remote areas, will be awarded under the BharatNet project through public-private-partnership (PPP) in 2022-23. The project is expected to be completed in 2025 and we will take measures to enable better and more efficient use of the optical fibre, the FM added.
 
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