Dawn of new era, says Modi

Airtel takes lead as Prime Minister launches 5G services, Jio to follow this month

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched the fifth generation wireless telephony services that promise to provide ultra high-speed internet on mobile phones and said it marks the beginning of a new era and presents an "infinite sky of opportunities".

The 5G services began with India's second largest operator, Bharti Airtel, rolling out services in eight cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Varanasi and Bengaluru.

Reliance Jio, the country's biggest operator with the most subscribers, will launch its services in four metros later this month. Vodafone Idea Ltd, the third operator, has not indicated any timeline for its 5G rollout.

Launching the services at the India Mobile Congress 2022, Mr Modi described the day as special for the world's fifth largest economy. "Today, 130 crore Indians are getting a wonderful gift in the form of 5G from the country and from the telecom industry of the country," he said.

With speeds several times faster than 4G and lag-free connectivity, 5G can enable billions of connected devices to share data in real-time and holds the promise of revolutionising sectors from health care and education to agriculture and disaster monitoring.