Spectrum bands for 5G to be announced soon: DoT official

NEW DELHI : The government is in discussion with Defence, Department of Space and the broadcasting ministry over 5G spectrum and announcement on availability of the radiowaves for the next generation technology will be made shortly, a senior government official said on Thursday.

The government has missed the deadline to roll out 5G service in 2020 and telecom players have been demanding that the spectrum be made available at the earliest so that they can start providing the next generation services.

“Because of traditional users- Department of Space, Defence and the broadcasting ministry, they have already some services in these (spectrum identified for 5G) bands. It is very important to sit with them and see which of the services can be shifted and which are the bands that are to be made available for the IMT(mobile services),” DoT Member (technology) K Ramchand said at the India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2020.