5G will open up opportunities for everyone in digital space: Telecom Secy

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Advent of 5G services in India will bring about a paradigm shift in technology and open up more opportunities for everyone in the digital space, Telecom Secretary Aruna Sundararajan said Friday.

Field trials of 5G services are expected to start next month.

"This (5G) is going to be another big paradigm shift that is going to happen," Sundararajan said at the IAMAI India Digital Summit here.

She said while 5G will not mean 1,000 times faster data, it will bring in low latency and ultra high speed broadband.

"People are gearing up for the next big paradigm that is about to come. All this will open up even more opportunities for everyone working in the digital space," Sundararajan added.

The government plans to hold 5G spectrum auction in the second half of this year.

Industry players, however, have said the auction should be deferred given the financial stress in the sector and also demanded lowering the price of the airwaves.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has recommended auction of about 8,644 MHz of telecom frequencies, including those for 5G services, at an estimated total base price of Rs 4.9 lakh crore.