Among four locations selected for the 5G pilot project, Bhopal will be the first smart city to develop a 5G network in the city. The other three locations to run the pilot project will be Delhi Airport, Kandla Port in Gujarat and Bengaluru metro rail network. According to reports, it would take around 4 months for the network service to be installed at several public locations.
A public-private model for 5G rollout
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The launch of the pilot project is a partnership between the government and leading telecom companies like Airtel, Vi and Jio. As per the Department of Telecom (DoT) officials, some major Indian cities are expected to get a 5G network by the end of 2022. A total of 13 Indian cities have been selected to get 5G services this year. However, after recent developments, Bhopal has been selected as the first location to roll out 5G services under the pilot project. Other cities include Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Gurugram, Chandigarh, Bangalore, Ahmadabad, Jamnagar, Hyderabad, Pune, Lucknow and Gandhinagar.
Bhopal Smart City Development Corporation Limited (BSCDCL) will work as a facilitator alongside telecom companies, providing access to the chosen installation points without any hassle. BSCDCL was the first smart city corporation in the country to install intelligent street lights and smart poles. As per the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), such infrastructure can be used as internet access points.
An enabler for exponential growth
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A spectrum auction will be organised soon where the government will sell rights to transmit 5G signals at different locations to telecom companies. However, the companies participating in the auction have asked the government to lower the price of the 5G spectrum that was predetermined in a consultation paper made by TRAI in November last year.
Once the service is installed and available for public use, people will be able to enjoy high-speed internet across the city, directly benefiting office goers, students, etc. With the transformative potential to provide a wide range of benefits to the Indian economy, when combined with Artificial Intelligence the service acts as an enabler in improving the accessibility of services such as mobile banking and healthcare. Additionally, it will also offer exponential growth in opportunities for unemployed or underemployed people to engage in fulfilling and productive work.
