In NEW DELHI: On Saturday, the National Broadband Mission (NBM), a division of the Ministry of Communications, tweeted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would launch 5G services in India on October 1 in conjunction with the opening of the India Mobile Congress (IMC).

However, the tweet disappeared within minutes from the National Broadband Mission handle on the micro-blogging platform.

The tweet's screenshot says that the "Taking India's digital transformation & connectivity to new heights, Hon'ble PM, @narendramodi, will roll out 5G services in India; at India Mobile Congress; Asia's largest technological exhibition."
Industry sources claim that the nation may not be ready to launch 5G services on October 1 and may need a few extra days to implement the new technology.  The Prime Minister announced that 5G services would soon be introduced in India during his Independence Day speech from the Red Fort's ramparts.

The sixth edition of the India Mobile Congress (IMC), jointly organised by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), will take place at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, from October 1-4.

Ashwini Vaishnaw, the minister of information technology, stated last month that the government anticipates the rollout of 5G services in the nation by October 12 and that the Center will ensure that the rates are reasonable for customers.
Vaishnaw said that installations are being done and telecom operations are busy with the seamless rollout of 5G services. The minister promised that the government would make sure that 5G plans remained within the reach of the general public. 13 cities are probably going to get 5G internet services during the first phase of the service's progressive rollout.

Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Gandhinagar, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Jamnagar, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, and Pune are the cities in question.

Telcos will soon release specific 5G pricing plans, much like they did for 3G and 4G, and experts in the field predict that users may pay extra to use 5G services on their devices.  

It is unlikely that the introduction of 5G will spark an instant tariff war, but it "will be competitive since India continues to be a price-conscious market."

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