5G Spectrum

India aims to double its 5G user base from 550 million to one billion by 2030, Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Thursday, adding that the country, which was behind the world in 4G, has resolved to lead the world in 6G. Speaking at the inauguration of the 10th edition of the India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2026, Scindia said 5G in India has become the fastest-adopted 5G technology in the world. "Today we have 550 million users on 5G...But we will not rest here. By 2030 our target is to take that number from 550 million to a billion customers on 5G," he said. On 6G, Scindia said the Bharat 6G Alliance, which has 90 institutions involved with it, has established 7,700 patents, of which 4,400 are international. "We were behind the world in 4G. We marched with the world on 5G. But it is our resolve that we will lead the world on 6G," he said.

India's 5G and broadband expansion is moving slower than expected, raising concerns among telecom companies about meeting the country's long-term digital goals

The telecom minister says BSNL's 92,500 4G towers, built using an indigenous tech stack, will be upgraded to 5G within six to eight months as the company posts Rs 5,000 crore operating profit

Trai is unlikely to change its stance on satellite spectrum pricing even as it waits for the Department of Telecommunications' response, a senior official says.

COAI warns direct allocation of spectrum for private 5G networks could harm security, cause revenue loss and create an uneven playing field with licensed operators

The draft talks about doubling annual investment in the telecom sector to ₹1 trillion, creating 1 million jobs in this industry, along with reskilling another 1 million, achieving 90% 5G population

Rules for the allocation of spectrum for satellite communications services are likely to be in place within two months, a government official said on Monday. The spectrum allocation rules are the last lap that will enable Elon Musk-led Starlink, Bharti Group-backed Eutelsat Oneweb and Jio SES to apply for the radiowaves and start rolling out their services. "Spectrum allocation rules are likely to be fixed in two months. After that, it will be at the discretion of satcom services when they want to roll out their services," the official said. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has recommended that the government should allocate spectrum without auction and through an administrative process-- a move that has seen huge resistance from telecom operators Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel initially. The regulator has suggested that spectrum for satcom services can be for a period of up to five years and considering the market conditions, the government may extend it for a furt

Sweden's Ericsson partners VVDN to manufacture passive antennas in India, with global shipments of its first locally made model beginning in July

BSNL to begin 5G rollout in Delhi and select cities by September as 4G deployment crosses 93,000 towers with plans to scale further after first 1 lakh sites

Telecom firms plan to oppose DoT's draft rules delicensing lower 6 GHz band, saying it will hamper 5G rollout and cost-effective mid-band spectrum deployment

Adani Data Networks secured the right to use 400 MHz of spectrum in the 26 GHz millimetre wave band in August 2022. However, the company never rolled out its 5G services

Private telecom operators Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea have published 5G, 4G and 2G network coverage maps in compliance with sector regulator Trai order, while public sector firms BSNL and MTNL are yet to publish it. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) in a revised regulation on service quality norms for landline, mobile and broadband in August 2024, had mandated telecom operators to publish service-wise geospatial coverage maps on their websites on where wireless voice or wireless broadband service is available for subscription by consumers. "In a significant move to enhance transparency and empower mobile subscribers, Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) have published mobile network coverage maps on their websites, as per the mandate given by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)," the regulator said in a statement. As per the details shared by Trai, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea have published the coverage, while state-run BSN

The government's decision to convert Rs 36,950 crore dues of Vodafone Idea (VIL) into equity is a "major" and "timely" display of support that will offer significant cash flow relief to the telco in the next three years and help it complete long-delayed bank debt raise, Citi said on Monday. The move also lifts concerns on tower companies like Indus Towers. "Overall, we view this as a major display of support by the government in a very timely manner, which should provide significant cash flow relief to VIL in the next 3 years and help it complete its bank debt raise," the brokerage said in its latest report. Throwing a lifeline to the troubled telecom operator, the government has decided to convert Rs 36,950 crore of VIL's outstanding spectrum auction dues into equity, under the provisions of the September 2021 telecom reforms package. The government shareholding in VIL will correspondingly increase to 48.99 per cent from 22.6 per cent. VIL promoters will, however, continue to have

Vodafone Idea plans to deploy 75,000 5G sites in 17 regions over three years, upgrading 10,000 towers with 900 MHz spectrum and has added 11,000 new towers in the past nine months

The uptick in the Vodafone Idea share price came after the company launched its 5G services in Mumbai

The quarterly addition of 5G sites in India has dropped sharply, with Jio and Airtel slowing deployments due to reduced capex, impacting telecom infrastructure firms

The government is looking at addressing challenges related to lack of returns on 5G investments and at the same time need for expanding telecom infrastructure arising out of increase in data usage, a senior official said on Friday. During a panel discussion at ICRIER Prosus Centre for Internet and Digital Economy event, telecom secretary Neeraj Mittal said that the median data speed in India has increased from about 99-100 megabit per second (mbps) in September to 151 mbps and on an average an individual consumes about 29 gigabytes of data every month. He said that most people are consuming data for the purpose of entertainment which means that there is a need to continuously augment telecom infrastructure. "In terms of challenges, we are going to see a lot of pressure on spectrum, as the data flow increases, we have to find new spectrum for mobile usage and broadband. A lot of capex will be required as we move from 5G to 6G. Elsewhere use of 5G and providing them returns because we

Airtel is expected to soon move to 5G SA for fixed wireless access service

Union Minister highlights rapid advancements in telecom, infrastructure, and public welfare, positioning India as a global leader in tech and development

The 37-40 GHz spectrum band is ideal for reaching peak 5G speeds in high-density urban areas