Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman revealed that there is great scope for 5G expansion in 2022. In her Union Budget 2022-23 speech on Tuesday, the Honourable Minister mentioned that the spectrum auctions are most likely to be conducted this year.

During her announcement, our Finance Minster also stated that the roll-out of 5G mobile services will also be facilitated in 2022-23 by the leading private telcos in the country.

“Telecommunication in general, and 5G technology in particular, can enable growth and offer job opportunities. Required spectrum auctions will be conducted in 2022 to facilitate the roll-out of 5G mobile services within 2022-23 by private telecom providers,” the Minister announced. “Our vision is that all villages and their residents should have the same access to e-services, communication facilities, and digital resources as urban areas and their residents. The contracts for laying optical fibre in all villages, including remote areas, will be awarded under the BharatNet project through PPP in 2022-23. Completion is expected in 2025. Measures will be taken to enable better and more efficient use of the optical fibre,” Ms Sitharaman added.

In response to the queries raised after the Union Budget was presented, Telecom and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw claimed that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, also known as TRAI was working on finalising the recommendations for the 5G spectrum auctions.

He said that we could expect the same by March 2022. Department of Telecommunications, otherwise called DoT, is also in the process of preparing the required documentation for the auctions including the NIA (notice inviting applications)

Budget Updates

According to the Union Budget 2022, the Government of India will lower the estimated revenue to Rs ₹52,806 crores in the year 2022-23 for the telecom sector.

State-Owned telecom operator BSNL will receive a capital infusion of ₹44,720 crores. There will also be an additional financial aid of ₹3,300 crores which will support VRS and another ₹3,550 crores as aid for GST payment.

Expert Opinions

Sandeep Aggarwal, Chairman, Telecom Equipment Promotion Council (TEPC) suggested that a low-cost spectrum could be provided to telecom operators initially, and later on, the auctions could be held when the telcos are in a better financial position.

This will get better prices and encourage healthy competition in the telecom sector…duty reduction in the telecom sector will be conducive to growth,” Mr Agarwal added.

Sabyasachi Majumdar, Senior Vice-President & Group Head, Corporate Ratings, ICRA Limited, has commented that this budget can easily propel the telecom industry and enhance digital penetration through e-learning and other online business transactions.

Nitin Bansal, MD, India & Head-Networks – Southeast Asia, Oceania, and India, Ericsson states… FM’s announcement around the 5G spectrum auction, 100 per cent fiberisation with PPP model will provide the required impetus to build upon ubiquitous and reliable internet connectivity. Thereby, bridging the digital divide for a conducive and inclusive development of the nation in keeping with the ‘Digital India’ initiative. Further, design-led initiatives for 5G under the PLI scheme and 5% of USOF for R&D purposes will strengthen the ‘Make in India’ initiative, and contribute to making India a global manufacturing hub.

The prospects of the telecom industry look promising as the inception of 5G will be a major page-turner in the history of the industry. It will lead to far-fetching benefits in the development of Rural internet connectivity which is a huge agenda for telecom providers. With the emergence of a strong 5G network, users across the nation can enjoy internet connectivity with higher capacity, lower latency and increased bandwidth.