Two days after announcing that 5G deployment would roll out in 20 to 25 cities and towns in the country by the year end, Union Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday said the services would soon be introduced in Odisha as well.
He informed this on the sidelines of the Yoga Day celebration in Puri.
Replying to media queries over non-inclusion of a single city/town from Odisha in the list of places selected for 5G deployment, Vaishnaw assured that 5G services would come to Odisha subsequently after successful launch of the much-awaited service on a pilot basis.
In reaction, Odisha IT Minister Tusharkanti Behera said that no official letter in this regard has been received from the Centre as yet.
“It is very disappointing to see that none of the cities or towns from Odisha has found place in the list of places selected for 5G deployment. We will have a discussion on the same. But as Odisha is going to get the status of an IT hub, we are optimistic that the State will be definitely be covered under the scheme in a later phase,” he stated.
Behera informed that Odisha’s districts like Sundargarh, Kandhamal, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Rayagada and Gajapati are still deprived of telecom services.
“We had appealed to the Centre to provide telecom services in the said districts. We are very thankful to the Union Government for its consent to ensure the same,” he added.
Notably, 5G will provide internet speed and capacity at least 10 times higher than 4G services and spawn new-age offerings and business models.