DoT Selects 13 Cities In Country For 5G Services; Bhubaneswar In 1st List?

Bhubaneswar: The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has decided to provide 5G services to a few selected cities in the country.

The DoT has drawn up the list after the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the 5G spectrum auction on Wednesday. The spectrum will be assigned to bidders to provide 5G services to the public as well as enterprises.

The DoT has selected 13 cities in the country to provide 5G services in the first phase. But none of the cities including Odisha capital figures in the list.

The cities, which have made it to the first list, are Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chennai, Gurugram, Chandigarh, Jamnagar, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Pune and Gandhinagar.

In order to provide the communication services through the high-end technology, the government has set up 5G testbed setups in 8 reputed technical institutions. The testbeds would enable start-ups and industry players to test and validate their products locally.

The government has been encouraging Indian enterprises to produce mobile phones, telecom products and semiconductors so that the country’s dependence on their imports can be brought down.