The Fifth Generation or 5G telecom services are set to be rolled out in selected cities in India in 2022. 13 cities across the country will be the first to get 5G, according to a press release.
There are 5G trials sites in these cities run by Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, and Vodafone Idea. However, the government has not announced which telecom operator will be the first to offer 5G services commercially. Department of Telecommunications along with agencies- Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Madras, IIT Kanpur, Indian Institute of Science (IISC) Bangalore, Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering & Research (SAMEER) and Centre of Excellence in Wireless Technology (CEiWT) – are together doing research project called ‘Indigenous 5G Test bed project’. In 2018, the project was launched for the Native 5G Test bed, which is scheduled to be finished by December 31, 2021. The Department of Telecom is funding the initiative. About Rs224 crore was spent on this project.
“Costing Rs 224 crore, the project is likely to be completed by December 31, 2021, paving the way for end-to-end testing of 5G User Equipments (UEs) and network equipment by 5G stakeholders developing 5G products/services/usercases, including indigenous start-ups, SMEs, Academia and Industry in the country,” the Department of Telecom informed.
In early January, Telecom Secretary K Rajaraman expressed hope for the rollout of the 5G test bed. “We hope to roll out this 5G test bed in early January which will enable SMEs and other parts of industries to come and test their solution on a working platform,” Rajaraman informed at India Mobile Congress on December 9.
In contrast to 4G networks, 5G networks are designed for a much more flexible use, thus replacing the need for many special-purpose networks. It’s even possible for them to operate as many separate networks at once.
