Heena Sharma Blog

  Telecom operator Bharti Airtel on Thursday said it has conducted India's first 5G trial in the 700 MHz spectrum band in partnership with Nokia. The demonstration, which was conducted on the outskirts of Kolkata, also marked the first 5G trial in the eastern India, the company said in a statement. Airtel has been allotted test spectrum in multiple bands by Department of Telecommunications for the validation of 5G technology and use cases. "Airtel conducts India's first 5G trial in the 700 MHz band in partnership with Nokia," the telco said. Airtel used equipment from Nokia's 5G portfolio, which included Nokia AirScale radios and standalone (SA) core. Read More  

When the spectre of dragnet online surveillance and grave violations of privacy looms large over India’s citizens, here is some news for cheer for those opposed to government surveillance . In a decision which was recently uploaded, the Delhi high court held that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has to disclose, under the provisions of the RTI Act, information to a citizen whether his phone was under surveillance mounted by Vodafone – a private telephone services provider – on orders of the government. Justice Suresh Kait held on 20 November that TRAI, being the regulatory authority of telecom service providers and a public authority under the RTI Act, could not prohibit the disclosure of such information. This ruling is a victory for the RTI Act, and safeguards citizens’ privacy from the depredations of private sector organisations who try to obfuscate the release of sensitive information. Read More Business Standard

After catapulting India to being the world's largest mobile data consuming nation, RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani Thursday said Jio's fibre-based broadband offering can place the country among the top three nations in fixed broadband from a low rank of 135 currently. He also said India has moved from 155th rank in mobile broadband penetration to being the number one nation in mobile data consumption in the world in less than two years. The country has an unparalleled combination of connectivity with affordability. "This is the fastest transition anywhere in the world from 2G/3G to 4G," he said. "By 2020, I believe that India will be a fully-4G country and ready for 5G ahead of others." By 2020, every phone in India will be a 4G-enabled phone and every customer will have access to 4G connectivity, he said. Jio is committed to "connecting everyone and everything, everywhere, always with the highest quality and the most affordable price,...

Telecom Secretary Aruna Sundararajan had earlier said that India wants to be a frontrunner in adopting 5G technology Economy & Policy News : Telecom   industry body   COAI   has said auction of spectrum for 5G services should happen only around the second half of 2019 as it would offer   telcos   better visibility into market dynamics and potential revenue streams of the next-generation mobile services. The pricing of 5G spectrum, which would be required in larger blocks or chunks than seen before, would also be "critical component of success of these auctions" that should ideally take place in the "mid to latter part of 2019", Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI) Director General Rajan Mathews told   PTI. Further, the ongoing financial stress in the industry will also have to be dealt with for the   telecom   operators to make investments into 5G auctions, he said. The advent of 5G is seen as the next technologica...