PM likely to launch 5G services on October 1

Prime Minister Narendra Modi may launch 5G services in India on October 1 at the annual technology conference Indian Mobile Congress (IMC), which he will be inaugurating, according to a tweet by the National Broadband Mission (NBM). However, the tweet was later deleted.

The Indian Mobile Congress (IMC) is an annual event which will see strong participation from industry, including the three private operators, Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea. Mr. Modi will be inaugurating the conference, which will be held from October 1 to October 4, this year.

In a tweet, IMC said, “It gives us immense pleasure to announce the inauguration of “India Mobile Congress” by Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi. Join us at Pragati Maidan on October 01-04, 2022, to witness the biggest Technology event of Asia.”

The tweet by NBM had stated: “Taking India’s digital transformation & connectivity to new heights, Hon’ble PM, @narendramodi, will roll out 5G services in India; at India Mobile Congress; Asia’s largest technology exhibition.”

The IMC website lists Communications, IT and Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani, Bharti Enterprises Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal and Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla, among others, as speakers at the event this year.

In July this year, Mr. Vaishnaw had said that 5G services will be available in India from October in a phased manner. In August, the Minister had also asked telecom operators to start preparing for the roll out of 5G services in the country, following the speedy issuance of spectrum allocation letters.

Separately, Mr. Ambani at the company’s 45th annual general meeting in August said that Reliance Jio will introduce 5G wireless services by Diwali or second half of October, starting with the four cities – Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. He had added that these services would be rapidly expanded to other cities and towns in phases over 18 months, so as to cover the entire country by December 2023.

In a similar message, Bharti Airtel’s CEO Gopal Vittal had in September said it expects to launch 5G services in a month’s time, covering key metros by December and all urban areas by the end of 2023.