India to roll out 5G by 2022, increase fiber backbone to 2.5 mn kilometers
India plans to roll out state-of-the-art 5G telecom services in the next four years, a senior official said, as the nation rushes to catch up with its Asian peers. “ We are not there yet,” Telecom Secretary Aruna Sundararajan said in an interview in New Delhi, adding that complete roll-out of 5G will be done by 2022. “ 5G won’t be driven by supply, it’ll be driven by demand and the rest of industry needs to wake up to this.” The South Asian nation, traditionally a laggard while embracing latest technology in telecommunications, will follow South Korea, Japan and China where 5G service will be offered within the next two years. The high-speed and low latency service will help Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Digital India plan, which seeks to broaden Internet access, and the Smart Cities initiative. “ If we want smart cities, clearly we need smart infrastructure for it,” Sundararajan said, adding some early stage projects may start rolling out as early as 2020. The ...