Heena Sharma Blog

  With talks of "timely" 5G roll out in India resurfacing again after a Covid-hit year that delayed spectrum auction, there are hopes that the fifth-generation cellular technology could be a reality in the second half of the year, even though various reports suggest that its mass adoption could still be years away. The government is not selling traditional 5G spectrum in the upcoming auction the bidding for which will commence in March, but a tweak in the notice inviting applications has raised hope that companies will be able to launch 5G even on existing bands. The amendment reduced the notice time period required for telecom companies to give to make advancements and upgrades in technology from one year to six months. Telecom major Bharti Airtel on January 28 successfully demonstrated live 5G service on a use case basis over a commercial network in Hyderabad city over its existing liberalised spectrum in the 1800 MHz band through the NSA (non-standalone) network tec

India will not bar any equipment suppliers, such as China's Huawei, in the upcoming trials for 5G, with Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Monday saying the government will allocate airwaves to all telecom service providers for conducting trials of super-fast speed 5G networks . Huawei rivals western equipment makers, such as Ericsson, and is banned in the US. Many countries, however, have allowed telecom service providers to use Chinese gears. And now, India has also indicated its unwillingness to keep any company out of 5G trials. The government has decided to give 5G spectrum for trials to all operators in the country, Prasad said on Monday on the sidelines of a telecom event. This implies that all operators, backed by equipment vendors they have decided to partner with, will be able to participate in the upcoming 5G trials in the country, and the stance is expected to spell a relief for Chinese gear maker Huawei. "The age of 5G is coming... We have taken