New Delhi: The National Broadband Mission of the government announced on Saturday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will officially launch 5G services on October 1 in India at a ceremony.

“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 technology exhibition,” it said.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and Cellular Operators Association of India jointly organise the India Mobile Congress (IMC), which bills itself as the largest telecom, media, and technology gathering in Asia (COAI).

According to Union Minister for Communications, Electronics & Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw, the government has set a target of 80% coverage of 5G telecom services in the nation in a short period of time.

Addressing an industry event in the national capital last Wednesday, Mr Vaishnaw had said, “the journey of 5G is going to be very exciting and noted that many countries took multiple years to reach 40 per cent to 50 per cent coverage. But we are targeting a very aggressive timeline and the Government has given a target of 80 per cent coverage in a short time frame and we should definitely cover at least 80 per cent in a very short timeframe.”

India will tremendously gain from 5G technology. A recent assessment by a worldwide industry association representing mobile network carriers predicted that it would likely boost the Indian GDP by 36.4 trillion ($455 billion) between 2023 and 2040.

According to the GSMA (Global System for Mobile Communications) report, 5G will make up more than a third of all connections in India by 2030, with 2G and 3G’s share falling to less than 10%. The report also noted that India’s high rate of 4G adoption (79%) indicates a subscriber base ready to make the switch to 5G.