• Beginning on October 1, telecom providers in India began offering 5G services.
• A lot of data may be transmitted swiftly via a 5G network.
• The overall net loss for BSNL since inception is Rs. 57,671 crore.

Devusinh Chauhan, the Minister of State for Communications, stated in a written reply submitted to the Rajya Sabha that telecom providers began offering 5G services in the nation on October 1, 2022.
Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) began offering 5G services in the nation on October 1, 2022, and as of November 26, 2022, 5G services were available in 50 localities spread throughout 14 States and Union Territories. 

Further, he stated that the minimum rollout commitments are expected to be fulfilled over a period of five years in a staggered manner from the date of spectrum allocation, in accordance with the bid document for the auction of access spectrum and licence conditions.

In order to facilitate a quicker and more seamless rollout of telecom networks (including 5G) and the extension of the nation's telecommunications infrastructure, the government has taken a number of regulatory initiatives. These include, among other things, allowing spectrum sharing and trading while also making enough spectrum accessible for mobile services through auction.

According to Chauhan, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) published a tender in October 2022 for the requirement of one lakh 4G stations. On January 1, 2021, BSNL released the Expression of Interest (EOI) for the Proof of Concept (PoC). With only a few outstanding points, the PoC has been finished. In BSNL's EOI, the 5G Non Standalone Access (NSA) upgrade was also preserved as a postponed feature.
Additionally, he added, the government has set aside spectrum for BSNL to use in the delivery of 5G services.

In response to a different question regarding the losses of BSNL and MTNL (Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd), the minister stated that as of March 31, 2022, the total net loss of BSNL since inception is Rs. 57,671 crore and that of MTNL is Rs. 14,989 crore.