5G commercial launch in India likely by 2020

The first commercial launch of Fifth Generation (5G) telecommunication service is expected by 2020, said a high level panel set up by the government.

A committee, headed by Standford University professor A J Paulraj, constituted to formulate a road map for 5G in India said in its report that "by acting early to embrace the 5G opportunity, India can accelerate the 5G dividend and potentially also become an innovator in 5G applications.

The panel, in its report submitted to the Department of Telecom (DoT), also flagged the concerns expressed by telecom operators in relation to business, security and privacy and suggested the government to address it.

The DoT will form a three member committee to work on the demands and concerns of the telecom industry on 5G deployment and will submit a report to the government by March 2019, a DoT official said.

5G is a next generation wireless technology which will offer greater internet speed. Its promoters claim that the technology can deliver data 10 times, or more, faster than 4G.

The first commercial 5G project is expected to launch in the US this year followed by Japan and Korea in 2019.

China is expected to join the race in 2020, DoT officials said.

India too prepared a road map for 5G rollout and the DoT had constituted several panels seeking suggestions on various issues.