CONTEXT

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has chosen Gurugram, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Delhi, Jamnagar, Ahmadabad, Chennai, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Pune, and Gandhi Nagar to be among the first cities to get 5G services in 2022.

WHAT IS 5G TECHNOLOGY

• Latest upgrade in long-term evolution (LTE) mobile broadband networks.
• Works in three bands — low-, mid- and high-frequency — all of which have their uses as well as limitations.
• Low-band spectrum
  • Shown great promise in terms of coverage
  • Maximum Internet speed is limited to 100 Mbps (megabits per second)
  • Can be used for commercial cellphone users
  • May not be optimal for specialised needs of industries.
• Mid-band spectrum
  • Offers higher speeds than low-band
  • Has limitations in terms of coverage area and penetration of signals.
  • May be used by industries and specialised factory units for building captive networks.
• High-band
  • Offers the highest speed among the three
  • Extremely limited coverage and signal penetration strength
  • Speeds have been tested to be as high as 20 Gbps (gigabits per second
  • Maximum Internet data speed in 4G has been recorded at 1 Gbps.

ARE OTHER COUNTRIES AND GLOBAL COMPANIES AHEAD OF INDIA?

• More than governments, global telecom companies have started building 5G networks
• In the US, companies such as AT&T, T-mobile, and Verizon have taken the lead
• In China, some telcos such as China Unicom had started 5G trials in 2018, and have since rolled out the commercial services for users.
• South Korean company Samsung, which had started researching on 5G technology way back in 2011, has taken the lead when it comes to building the hardware for 5G networks for several companies.

WHAT CHANGES FOR CONSUMERS?

• Rich experiences on their phones and other connected devices
• Users will be able to stream videos with multiple camera angles during sports matches or even play immersive video games using VR headsets or other accessories.
• Enable a mesh of connected Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled devices and services with zero-fail rate, as in the case of connected cars.
• Spawn high-speed mobile broadband connectivity to replace existing broadband services, especially in locations where these services are constrained, provided there isn’t a huge price differential.
• Some newer devices in the market claim to be 5G-ready.
• Equipment makers such as Ericsson believe that within 5 years, India will have 500 million 5G subscriptions.

WHERE DOES INDIA STAND IN TERMS OF TRIALS AND LAUNCH?

• Auction of 5G spectrum would be delayed by at least one quarter as telecom service providers are yet to complete their trials and test various aspects.
• Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is in the final stages of stakeholder consultations, and is likely to submit its recommendations to the DoT early next year.
• Bharti Airtel has conducted trials in partnership with Ericsson for mobile phones already in the market, Vi has conducted some for enterprise and business solutions, and Reliance Jio Infocomm has completed building its indigenous 5G network and is now conducting trials of connected drones, speed test and other aspects

WHY BIG CITIES BE AMONG THE FIRST?

• Telecom service providers have been working with telecom equipment makers and conducting trials at test sites in these cities.
• Telecom services penetration is high making it easier to convince more people to upgrade from 4G.
• Since the costs for 5G services are initially going to be on the higher side, it would be wise to test the service in areas where more consumers would find them affordable.
• Provide all kinds of locations, such as walled complexes and open spaces, that are suitable for testing of various 5G bands.