India’s DoT WPC allocates 5G trial spectrum in 3.5 Ghz, 26 Ghz and 700 Mhz bands
In the seemingly never-ending saga of “5G delayed in India,” the Department of Telecom (DoT) has allotted 5G trial spectrum in the 700 Mhz, 3.5 Ghz and 26 Ghz bands. That paves the way for the Big 3 — Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea (Vi) to partner with non-Chinese network vendors and develop India-relevant use cases for 5G networks (forget about URLLC which doesn’t meet 5G performance requirements in 3GPP Release 16 or IMT 2020 RITs).
The DoT’s wireless planning & coordination (WPC) wing late Thursday evening allotted “100, 800 and 10 units of experimental 5G airwaves to the Big 3 telcos in the 3.5 Ghz, 26 Ghz and 700 Mhz bands respectively,” a senior telco executive told ET. The 5G trial airwaves have been allocated for six months, he added.
Earlier this month, India’s DoT said telcos would be given experimental airwaves in mid-band (3.2-3.67 Ghz), sub-Ghz (700 Mhz) and mmWave band (26 Ghz) to run 5G trials for six months. So far, only mid-band spectrum in the 3.3-3.6 Ghz bands have been earmarked by the government for 5G services. The department had also said that telcos would also be allowed to use their own airwaves in the 800 Mhz, 900 Mhz, 1800 Mhz and 2500 Mhz bands to conduct 5G trials.
Huawei and ZTE were missing from the original list of applications from the Indian telcos that were approved by the government earlier this month, sending a clear signal that the two Chinese network equipment vendors would not be part of India’s 5G deployments as well.
Allotment of 5G trial spectrum is particularly crucial for Jio and Airtel, who already have 5G-ready networks and have recently bulked up on crucial airwaves in the recent auction to cater to the surge in data usage amid Covid and also future-proof themselves ahead of 5G rollouts.
DoT’s decision also marks the first official allocation of 5G trial spectrum in the coveted 26 Ghz millimeter wave (mmWave) band that ranges from 24.25-to 28.5 Ghz frequencies. Telcos have repeatedly underlined the criticality of the 26 Ghz mm wave band for bolstering the 5G business case, without which deployment costs of fifth- generation fast wireless broadband networks could jump several-fold and make 5G services unaffordable to consumers in India.
Industry executives said the latest allotment of experimental 5G airwaves is also set to pave the way for inclusion of the coveted 26 Ghz mmWave band and mid-band 5G spectrum (read: 3.3-3.67 Ghz) in the updated National Frequency Allocation Plan (NFAP-2021) — a key spectrum policy document that is undergoing revision. This is aimed to underline the government’s plans to go for a comprehensive auction of multiple 5G bands. DoT is yet to schedule a 5G spectrum sale.
It, though, is set to send a referral to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) to suggest reserve prices for all spectrum bands cleared for 5G trials, including 26 Ghz, 3.3-3.67 Ghz and 700 Mhz in the run up to the next auction. This could lead to Trai cutting the earlier base prices of the premium-sub-Ghz 700 Mhz band that went unsold for the second auction in succession in March as well as mid-band 5G spectrum that have been termed by telcos as exorbitant.
The DoT is also likely to ask the regulator to set a base price for the 600 Mhz sub-Ghz band, which has not been auctioned previously.
References:
India ramps up supply chain for 5G service launch in 2021 pending spectrum auction
Economic Times: India’s big bet on 5G in 2021 starts with 5G spectrum auction
India telecom revenue to slow through March 2021; 5G spectrum auction delayed yet again
At long last: India Telecom Minister gives go ahead for 5G trials
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The Indian government may try to push telcos to conduct 5G trials in rural areas along with urban centers, says a new report. The Department of Telecom (DoT), which had given permission to Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea to conduct 5G trials in India, will ask the companies to include rural areas in their tests. State-owned MTNL is also going to be given trial spectrum for conducting tests, once the company submits fees of Rs. 5000, which is required for the permission. The company will apparently conduct trials in Najafgarh, near Delhi, once they receive the trial spectrum, according to the report.
https://www.mysmartprice.com/gear/dot-asks-telecom-providers-to-test-5g-in-rural-areas-allocates-sub-6ghz-and-mmwave-spectrums/
Information technology services company Capgemini Monday deployed 5G (standalone) Industry Connect solution from Swedish telecoms gear maker Ericsson at its 5G Lab in Mumbai, as part of an ongoing partnership, with an aim to accelerate the deployment of 5G solutions, a key component of Intelligent Industry.
As per an official statement, the Industry Connect solution is plug and play, pre-packaged and pre-integrated dedicated network product with pre-selected components by Ericsson.
This solution can be deployed by industry customers requiring a fully private (i.e., on-premise) deployment for limited coverage areas, the statement added.
The 5G Lab will enable enterprises across industry verticals such as health, safety, manufacturing to test out 5G use cases that can then be rolled out in the industry.
The Mumbai-based 5G Lab, which is spread over 1300 square feet, will comprise a multidisciplinary team of experts that will demonstrate the latest use cases to organizations, as well as, help them build, monetize, and strategize the latest generation of network technology.
The Lab will support Capgemini’s global client base in 5G end-to-end transformation through three offerings–5G and Edge ideation catalyst program; 5G and Edge use case acceleration platform; and 5G and Edge Fab Lab.
“This 5G lab will support our global clients and cater to four main industry categories namely Smart Factory, Smart Utilities, Smart City, and Smart Retail to enhance the relevance of the Lab’s use cases in the multisectoral paradigm,’ said Ashwin Yardi, Chief Executive Officer – India, at Capgemini and member of the Group Executive Committee.
“Industry Connect is a secure, easy to install, easy to manage turnkey Industry 4.0 solution providing 4G LTE as well as the latest 5G standalone cellular technology. We are delighted to collaborate with Capgemini to set up this 5G Lab in India to test potential 5G use cases for enterprises as the country prepares to launch 5G,” added Nadine Allen, Head of Enterprise Business, Ericsson South East Asia, Oceania and India.
https://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/capgemini-picks-ericsson-to-support-client-innovation-at-its-5g-lab-for-industries-in-india/83111682