A Committee of Secretaries (CoS) including Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Defence, Department of Space, discussed spectrum allocation among various user Ministries/Departments in the context of spectrum needs of emerging technologies/users (5G/IMT) and recommended the spectrum allocation in relevant key bands. Accordingly, Department of Telecommunications sent a reference to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on 13.09.2021, seeking recommendations on auction of spectrum in frequency bands identified for International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT)/5G.

Government has planned to conduct auction of 5G in year 2022.

Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) are conducting 5G trials in Delhi, Mumbai, Jamnagar, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Lucknow, Gurgaon, Gandhinagar, Chandigarh, Pune and Varanasi including urban, semi-urban and rural areas. It is prerogative of TSPs to launch 5G service in different cities as per their business/network plans.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Communications, Shri Devusinh Chauhan in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

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RKJ/M