Union Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad announced that the government will be holding auctions for the spectrum that is going to be used for 5G service, which will include air waves. Mr. Prasad added that government plans to start 5G trials in the next 100 days or by mid-September and are targeting to launch 5G by 2020.
What is 5G?
5G is the fifth generation of cellular network technology that provides broadband access. It is the next generation cellular technology that will provide faster communication with ultra low latency. Peak network data speeds are expected to be in the range of 2-20 Gigabit per second (Gbps) where as 4G link speeds in averaging 6-7 Megabit per second (Mbps) in India and 25 Mbps in advanced countries.
Difference between 5G and 4G
-
5G is smarter, faster and more efficient than 4G.
-
5G is 100 times faster than 4G.
-
Low latency is a main differentiator between 4G and 5G. Latency is that time period when one send some data and other receive and in 5G latency is reduced that means you can send information faster.
-
5G will fix bandwidth issues. Currently, there are so many band width for 3G and 4G networks but 5G will fix this issue.
-
Speed of 5G will be 2-20 Gbps and 4G is 6-7 Mbps.
What will be the economic impact of 5G?
According to reports, 5G is expected to create a economic impact of $1 trillion in India by 2035 and according to a separate report by telecom gear maker Ericsson India has the potential of generating $27 billion revenue by 2026.
When will it be launched?
South Korea and the U.S. became the first countries to commercially launch 5G services. South Korea was first one to launch 5G beating U.S by few hours. China has also launched 5G and Mr. Prasad has promised that the trials will begin in mid-September and has set 2020 as year of launch for 5G.The government launched a three year programme that was started in March 2018 to start research in 5G with a budget of Rs. 224 crore.
