Trials for 5G technology
- The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on Tuesday gave permission to Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) to conduct trials for the use and application of 5G technology.
- The applicant TSPs include Bharti Airtel Ltd., Reliance JioInfocomm Ltd., Vodafone Idea Ltd. and MTNL.
- These TSPs have tied up with original equipment manufacturers and technology providers which are Ericsson, Nokia, Samsung and C-DOT.
- Each TSP will have to conduct trials in rural and semi-urban settings also in addition to urban settings so that the benefit of 5G technology proliferates across the country.
- This formally leaves out Chinese companies like Huawei and ZTE from the 5G race in India.
About 5Gi technology
- TSPs are encouraged to conduct trials using 5Gi technology in addition to the already known 5G technology.
- 5Gi technology was advocated by India, as it facilitates much larger reach of the 5G towers and radio networks.
- The 5Gi technology has been developed by the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M), Centre of Excellence in Wireless Technology (CEWiT) and IIT Hyderabad.
