Also: 5G, fifth generation mobile network, spectrum, Telecommunications Act 2023
Definition
5G is the fifth generation of mobile network technology, offering much higher speeds, very low delay and support for huge numbers of connected devices; India launched 5G in October 2022 as part of a telecom sector now governed by the Telecommunications Act, 2023.
India's telecom story began with the Indian Telegraph Act of 1885, under which the state held a monopoly on communication. For decades, phones were scarce: in 1991 there were only a few million lines and long waiting lists. Liberalisation opened the sector. The National Telecom Policy of 1994 allowed private players, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) was set up in 1997, and the New Telecom Policy of 1999 introduced revenue-sharing licences. Mobile phones spread quickly in the 2000s as call rates fell sharply, making India one of the world's largest telecom markets.
The sector also saw controversies, notably the 2G spectrum case, after which the Supreme Court in 2012 cancelled 122 licences and held that natural resources such as spectrum should be allotted through transparent methods like auctions. The launch of Reliance Jio in 2016 with low-cost data triggered a price war, consolidation and a surge in data use. 4G covered most of the country by the early 2020s. The 5G auction in 2022 and the commercial rollout from October that year made India's 5G deployment one of the fastest in the world.
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