The 4G-only telco Reliance Jio has applied to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for 5G spectrum allocation for the field trials of its 5G network in select metros, reported Business Standard.
Jio has requested the DoT to assign 800Mhz spectrum each in both the mmWave bands (26GHz and 24Ghz) as well as 100MHz in the 3.5Ghz band.
The development comes in the light of Reliance Industries’ (RIL) announcement that its telecom unit has created a complete 5G solution, using 100% homegrown technologies that will allow it to launch next-generation, high-speed services in India.
“This Made-in-India 5G solution will be ready for trials as soon as 5G spectrum is available and can be ready for field deployment next year,” RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani had said in a speech at the company’s third annual general meeting.
The trials will allow India, through Jio, to join the club of countries that can sell their own indigenously developed 5G technology to the world. Additionally, the trials will allow Jio to take on global telecom gear makers such as Huawei, ZTE, Ericsson, Nokia, and Samsung.
The report while citing DoT sources said Jio can immediately start trials once the spectrum is allocated.
Countries like the US, the UK, China, Australia, South Korea, Japan, and a number of European countries have already launched 5G services. India, on the other hand, has delayed a planned 5G spectrum auction until 2021 due to the unavailability of use cases and lack of interest from private telecom operators such as Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea that have also said that the base price - Rs 492 crore a unit - was too high and wouldn’t attract bids.
Jio had previously sought DoT’s approval to conduct 5G trials based on its own technology. It had earlier separately communicated to the DoT to explain its technology and relevant use case scenarios. However, the trials are yet to be pending due to lack of clarity on Huawei.
Jio had previously submitted applications for 5G trials with other telecom gear makers, including Samsung, Nokia, Ericsson, Huawei, and ZTE.
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