Science & Technology
5G Trails
- 30 Jul 2019
- 2 min read
Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has issued guidelines for 5G trials across all available spectrum bands and is likely to allocate up to 400 MHz of radio waves for the trials.
Guidelines
- It provides for a uniform fee of Rs 5,000 for the trial licence.
- The period for trial licence may be between 3 months to 2 years depending on the purpose.
- Indian entities involved in research and development (R&D), manufacturing, telecom operators and involved academia can be issued licence for a period of up to 2 years.
- The DoT is obliged to grant permit for the trails between 4 to 8 weeks. In case of no response by DoT within the said period, the applicant can send notice for trials. Again if the applicant does not receive any reply within 2 weeks, it will be deemed as approval. .
Concerns
- According to the Global rating agency Fitch, the expensive spectrum and limited business case of 5G in the short to medium term might discourage some of the telcos like Airtel and Vodafone Idea to participate in the spectrum auctions.
- 5G may have only limited commercial viability in the short term, as 4G penetration is still low in India.
- There is little appealing content or applications which cannot be addressed by 4G speeds.
- Indian telcos lack extensive intra-city fibre infrastructure, which is responsible for poor internet experience relative to other markets and is also critical in order to provide a seamless 5G experience.
The government needs to be cautious and must go for comprehensive studies before the commercial rollout of 5G technology to ensure people’s safety.
