DoT gears up for 5G services, in talks with TRAI about commercial deployment
KOLKATA: The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is preparing to open up new bands to support 5G services.
It will shortly seek suggestions from the telecom regulator on the suitability of the 28 GHz band for 5G commercial deployments, along with its views on pricing such airwaves, said people aware of the matter.
The government is examining the feasibility of allocating this spectrum band in India for 5G, close on the heels of South Korea auctioning these airwaves and the decision of the US Federal Communications Commission planning to do so from November 14.
The DoT plans to constitute a panel soon to examine whether 5G systems can be deployed in the 28 GHz band and co-exist with the current fixed satellite services in the same band.
“It is mandatory to refer the matter of assessing suitability of a specific bandwidth and its pricing to Trai (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India), and the government shall do so before taking a call on allocating millimetre spectrum in 28 GHz band for early 5G deployments in India,” said a senior DoT official, who did not wish to be identified.
He said the government would ensure the business interests of current users of the 28 GHz band in India such as the Indian Space Research Organisation are protected if a decision is taken to allocate these airwaves for 5G services.
India, he said, had signalled its interest in these potential 5G airwaves at a recent meeting of the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity wireless group in Bangkok, especially since 28 GHz is seen globally as “a frontier 5G band” and considered essential for early 5G deployments.
India’s new telecom policy – the National Digital Communications Policy 2018 – has recognised mid-band spectrum in the 3 GHz to 43 GHz range as central to India’s 5G strategy, and has called for identifying new bands for access and backhaul segments for timely deployment of 5G networks. The 28 GHz spectrum band would be within the mid-band range.
The quest for new 5G bands comes at a time when the government is looking to auction a mix of 4G and 5G airwaves in late 2019 and showcase the first batch of India-relevant 5G use cases by the year-end.
Analysts cautioned though that the pace of 5G adoption in India would hinge on the timing of the auctions and pricing of 5G airwaves.
Experts have pointed out that Trai’s suggested base price of Rs 492 crore per unit of 3500 MHz 5G spectrum – which was part of its spectrum pricing recommendations for the next sale – is much higher than Rs 65 crore a unit at a recent 5G auction in South Korea. Therefore, they said, India’s financially stressed older carriers such as Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel could give 5G airwaves a miss in the next sale if pricing is exorbitant, given that device ecosystems are yet to mature.
KOLKATA: The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is preparing to open up new bands to support 5G services.
It will shortly seek suggestions from the telecom regulator on the suitability of the 28 GHz band for 5G commercial deployments, along with its views on pricing such airwaves, said people aware of the matter.
The government is examining the feasibility of allocating this spectrum band in India for 5G, close on the heels of South Korea auctioning
these airwaves and the decision of the US Federal Communications Commission planning to do so from November 14.
NEW DELHI: Chinese telecom gear maker Huawei said that it will partner with Indian telecom and state governments to conduct 5G field trials having secured invitation from the telecom department (DoT) for 5G trial airwaves. It plans to conduct 3GPP R15 specifications-based 5G field trials in coming three quarters in the country.
The Indian government will provide 5G spectrum and backhaul to Indian telecom operators and telecom gear vendors. Ericsson, Nokia, Samsung, and Cisco have already received similar invitation letters from the DoT for development of 5G applications and trials on the suggestion of Stanford University Professor Emeritus Arogyaswami J Paulraj, who is a member of the 5G panel that recently suggested spectrum roadmap for the technology.
Another Chinese vendor ZTE, however, is yet to get the DoT invitation for 5G trials in India.
"Besides the DoT, and telecom operators, we will partner with academia, industries and app developers for 5G field trials and identify relevant use cases," Huawei India chief executive officer Jay Chen, told ET. "We have shown interest in running trial in two cities, including Delhi."
He said that the Indian government intends to allocate 100 megahertz spectrum for 5G trials.
"We want to invite the entire ecosystem to collaborate and enable 5G-use cases like enhanced mobile broadband, AR/VR, Fixed wireless access and ultra HD video," he said.
The executive said that Huawei will "make significant investments" towards field trials along with telecom operator partners. These 5G field trials will be conducted in dense and urban areas.
The Chinese gear maker also said that it is working closely with various telecom operators as they would play a crucial role in conducting 5G field trial for India specific use cases. In February 2018, Huawei partnered with Bharti Airtel to conduct 5G laboratory testing in India.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has recommended auction of about 8,644 MHz of telecom frequencies at an estimated base price of Rs 4.9 lakh crore. The government expects to conduct auction to provide spectrum for 5G services in second half of 2019.
Telecom secretary Aruna Sundararajan recently told ET that the DoT will set up core group in the department to push trials further by early next year to be able to demonstrate 5G use cases in India.
The government is confident that India will roll-out 5G in tandem with global markets in 2020 and is making all efforts to keep the timeline for the next-generation technology, which could have an economic impact of more than $1 trillion in the country.
The DoT is preparing to open up new bands to support 5G services, and will shortly seek suggestions from the telecom regulator, Trai, on the suitability of the 28 GHz band for 5G commercial deployments, along with its views on pricing such airwaves, ET on Friday reported.
Recently, the US and Australia moved to act against Huawei and ZTE amid concerns about possible cyber snooping by China. Last month, Australia barred both Huawei and ZTE from its 5G network roll-outs. Before that, the US had barred government use of equipment from the two Chinese gear makers, in what is perceived as wider efforts to keep the companies away from 5G roll-outs in the country.
Chen, however, downplayed concerns and said that the Indian government has an open approach, "and we appreciate their decision to partner us for the 5G trials. We can provide huge contribution as we are the only vendor to have end-to-end network capabilities, along with own handsets."
He added that the company has been working all tier 1 telecom operators in the country.
It will shortly seek suggestions from the telecom regulator on the suitability of the 28 GHz band for 5G commercial deployments, along with its views on pricing such airwaves, said people aware of the matter.
The government is examining the feasibility of allocating this spectrum band in India for 5G, close on the heels of South Korea auctioning these airwaves and the decision of the US Federal Communications Commission planning to do so from November 14.
The DoT plans to constitute a panel soon to examine whether 5G systems can be deployed in the 28 GHz band and co-exist with the current fixed satellite services in the same band.
“It is mandatory to refer the matter of assessing suitability of a specific bandwidth and its pricing to Trai (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India), and the government shall do so before taking a call on allocating millimetre spectrum in 28 GHz band for early 5G deployments in India,” said a senior DoT official, who did not wish to be identified.
He said the government would ensure the business interests of current users of the 28 GHz band in India such as the Indian Space Research Organisation are protected if a decision is taken to allocate these airwaves for 5G services.
India, he said, had signalled its interest in these potential 5G airwaves at a recent meeting of the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity wireless group in Bangkok, especially since 28 GHz is seen globally as “a frontier 5G band” and considered essential for early 5G deployments.
India’s new telecom policy – the National Digital Communications Policy 2018 – has recognised mid-band spectrum in the 3 GHz to 43 GHz range as central to India’s 5G strategy, and has called for identifying new bands for access and backhaul segments for timely deployment of 5G networks. The 28 GHz spectrum band would be within the mid-band range.
The quest for new 5G bands comes at a time when the government is looking to auction a mix of 4G and 5G airwaves in late 2019 and showcase the first batch of India-relevant 5G use cases by the year-end.
Analysts cautioned though that the pace of 5G adoption in India would hinge on the timing of the auctions and pricing of 5G airwaves.Experts have pointed out that Trai’s suggested base price of Rs 492 crore per unit of 3500 MHz 5G spectrum – which was part of its spectrum pricing recommendations for the next sale – is much higher than Rs 65 crore a unit at a recent 5G auction in South Korea. Therefore, they said, India’s financially stressed older carriers such as Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel could give 5G airwaves a miss in the next sale if pricing is exorbitant, given that device ecosystems are yet to mature.
KOLKATA: The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is preparing to open up new bands to support 5G services.
It will shortly seek suggestions from the telecom regulator on the suitability of the 28 GHz band for 5G commercial deployments, along with its views on pricing such airwaves, said people aware of the matter.
The government is examining the feasibility of allocating this spectrum band in India for 5G, close on the heels of South Korea auctioning
these airwaves and the decision of the US Federal Communications Commission planning to do so from November 14.
NEW DELHI: Chinese telecom gear maker Huawei said that it will partner with Indian telecom and state governments to conduct 5G field trials having secured invitation from the telecom department (DoT) for 5G trial airwaves. It plans to conduct 3GPP R15 specifications-based 5G field trials in coming three quarters in the country.
The Indian government will provide 5G spectrum and backhaul to Indian telecom operators and telecom gear vendors. Ericsson, Nokia, Samsung, and Cisco have already received similar invitation letters from the DoT for development of 5G applications and trials on the suggestion of Stanford University Professor Emeritus Arogyaswami J Paulraj, who is a member of the 5G panel that recently suggested spectrum roadmap for the technology.
Another Chinese vendor ZTE, however, is yet to get the DoT invitation for 5G trials in India.
"Besides the DoT, and telecom operators, we will partner with academia, industries and app developers for 5G field trials and identify relevant use cases," Huawei India chief executive officer Jay Chen, told ET. "We have shown interest in running trial in two cities, including Delhi."
He said that the Indian government intends to allocate 100 megahertz spectrum for 5G trials.
"We want to invite the entire ecosystem to collaborate and enable 5G-use cases like enhanced mobile broadband, AR/VR, Fixed wireless access and ultra HD video," he said.
The executive said that Huawei will "make significant investments" towards field trials along with telecom operator partners. These 5G field trials will be conducted in dense and urban areas.
The Chinese gear maker also said that it is working closely with various telecom operators as they would play a crucial role in conducting 5G field trial for India specific use cases. In February 2018, Huawei partnered with Bharti Airtel to conduct 5G laboratory testing in India.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has recommended auction of about 8,644 MHz of telecom frequencies at an estimated base price of Rs 4.9 lakh crore. The government expects to conduct auction to provide spectrum for 5G services in second half of 2019.
Telecom secretary Aruna Sundararajan recently told ET that the DoT will set up core group in the department to push trials further by early next year to be able to demonstrate 5G use cases in India.
The government is confident that India will roll-out 5G in tandem with global markets in 2020 and is making all efforts to keep the timeline for the next-generation technology, which could have an economic impact of more than $1 trillion in the country.
The DoT is preparing to open up new bands to support 5G services, and will shortly seek suggestions from the telecom regulator, Trai, on the suitability of the 28 GHz band for 5G commercial deployments, along with its views on pricing such airwaves, ET on Friday reported.
Recently, the US and Australia moved to act against Huawei and ZTE amid concerns about possible cyber snooping by China. Last month, Australia barred both Huawei and ZTE from its 5G network roll-outs. Before that, the US had barred government use of equipment from the two Chinese gear makers, in what is perceived as wider efforts to keep the companies away from 5G roll-outs in the country.
Chen, however, downplayed concerns and said that the Indian government has an open approach, "and we appreciate their decision to partner us for the 5G trials. We can provide huge contribution as we are the only vendor to have end-to-end network capabilities, along with own handsets."
He added that the company has been working all tier 1 telecom operators in the country.
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