5G spectrum auction concluded on August 1, 2022. The government made handsome revenues from this auction, and the telcos got finally got their hands on the spectrum through which they could roll out 5G. Ashwini Vaishnaw, telecom minister, said the government completed the 5G spectrum harmonisation process in a single day after the auction concluded. This is not something surprising but actually a very common thing which happens after every spectrum auction. The spectrum harmonisation process is critical for the operators to rollout 5G as it brings together a bunch of airwaves within a band into one contiguous block, and it is done only on the consensus of all the telcos. According to a PTI report, Vaishnaw said that the telcos would be allocated 5G spectrum on August 12. With spectrum harmonisation, telcos can get better efficiencies in operations. This is because radio-wave holdings in one band are brought together with the agreement of all the players. It is not an easy process for the government, but it was done in a single day which shows the efforts that the government is putting into ensuring that Indian consumers get access to 5G services as soon as possible. Vaishnaw had said that telcos have access to enough spectrum to cover the entire country with 5G networks. How soon they will be able to do it is something that we need to look out for. Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel have already hinted at the nearby launch of 5G networks. Vodafone Idea is, of course, not going to sit idle either, and it will look for a way to launch 5G as soon as possible too. Vi doesn’t have enough spectrum to offer 5G services in every circle, but the business is definitely going to launch 5G services in priority circles as soon as possible.
