Laidback, insufficient, and unprepared are just some of the words used in a report by the Parliamentary Committee of IT to describe the efforts of the Union Communications Ministry's in rolling out 5G technology.

5G trials in India are set to launch in March. But the 125-page report, titled “India’s Preparedness for 5G”, released on 8 February and prepared by a 31-member committee comprising members across party lines, from both Houses of Parliament, concluded that India has not gone beyond the initial stages of preparation as compared to other countries, so much so that, India may actually “miss the 5G bus.”

The Committee also states that its concerns for 5G deployment are enhanced by the fact that previous network technologies like 2G, 3G, and 4G were all deployed later in India when compared to the rest of the world. The Committee has raised several issues with the DoT’s current preparedness on 5G, one of the biggest being the unit price of spectrum, which is in the range of 3-70 times more when compared to other countries.

While some countries like the US, UK, Australia have already introduced 5G services, India is running behind all other players.

Where does India stand in 5G deployment, what are the obstacles, and by when should we expect it in India?

Producer and Host: Himmat Shaligram Guest: Sanjay Kapoor, former CEO of Bharti Airtel India.

Editor: Shelly Walia

Music: Big Bang Fuzz

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