The Department of Telecommunications will soon approach the Finance Ministry with the wish-list of the debt-ridden telecom industry, a senior Ministry source said. The Ministry will call individual telecom service providers, equipment makers and industry associations such as the cellular operators association of India and Tower and Infrastructure Providers Association. This will be the second time in nearly six months that the DoT will approach the Finance Ministry seeking relief for the telecom industry, which is reeling under a debt of about ₹7 lakh crore. The 5G trials are expected to start in the first quarter of 2020 (January-March). The government had received a total of seven applications for the 5G trials.

Source: The Hindu December 31, 2019 16:36 UTC