India wants to take a lead position in adopting 5G technology and will prepare the roadmap for it by June, said Telecom Secretary Aruna Sundararajan.
“A high-level forum on 5G, which includes global experts, industry experts, IITs, IISc, has already commenced work and done a fair amount of deliberation. By June, India will have full roadmap ready on this,” Ms. Sundararajan said at a COAI event on catalysing 5G launch in the country, here on Tuesday. The forum was deliberating on the vision, goals and 5G roadmap, and would also look at related areas of spectrum policy, regulatory regime and pilot programmes, she added.
Vodafone-Idea merger
The merger proposal of Vodafone India and Idea Cellular was in the final stages of getting DoT approval, the Telecom Secretary said, replying to query on the sidelines of the event.
Pointing out that the merger proposal had already received the nod from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Ms. Sundararajan said, “FDI approvals are involved and also liberalisation of licences. There are a number of clearances involved. We are in the process of expediting it.”
The merger, once completed, will create the largest telecom operator in the country. The two companies last week named Balesh Sharma as the CEO of the merged entity.
