PM Modi is set to announce 5G services in India on October 1 at the Indian Mobile Congress

On October 1st, 5G services will formally debut in India. According to a message from the National Broadband Mission’s official Twitter account on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will make the announcement about the start of India’s 5G network during the Indian Mobile Congress. IMC 2022 is Asia’s largest technology expo. The launch of 5G in India was anticipated for October after Jio stated during its AGM 2022 in August that it would roll out 5G services in a few cities by Diwali.

“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 tweet said.

Reliance Jio claimed to have a standalone 5G service that is ready, which implies the telecom won’t be using any of the current 4G towers to offer the 5G network. While details around the launch of Vodafone Idea’s 5G network are yet unknown, Airtel is anticipated to roll out its 5G services around the same time as Jio.

While PM Modi will be at IMC 2022 to introduce 5G services, it’s unclear if this means customers will start experiencing 5G speeds on October 1. Customers would probably need to buy a 5G SIM card in order to utilise the next-generation mobile network, as Jio is establishing a standalone 5G network.

According to a recent ET story, Jio and Airtel will launch 5G services in India at costs that are comparable to those of their existing 4G plans. Analysts predict that doing so will increase widespread 5G adoption in the country. If this is true, we will have to wait and see. According to Rohan Dhamija, India head at Analysys Mason, “5G operators are unlikely to charge a premium above 4G prices initially as their immediate objective would be to push 5G adoption, get more users to enjoy higher speeds, consume more data, and, in turn, drive ARPU growth.”