2020 was supposed to be the year of 5G technology in India. However, with COVID-19 pandemic bringing the global economy to a standstill, and with strict lockdown measures imposed in almost all the countries around the world, deployment of 5G, along with the development of requisite infrastructure had to take a backseat in the country. However, the focus is now back on the availability of 5G networks, which, according to industry experts, can happen by the end of 2021, or the beginning of 2022.
While those estimates are rather optimistic, telecoms had earlier faced several roadblocks that threatened to further delay the deployment of 5G networks in the country. From the government’s decree, stopping telecoms from purchasing 5G equipment from Chinese manufacturers, to telcos complaining about the exorbitant costs of the 5G spectrum, several issues cropped up even before the 5G spectrum auction had taken place. However, a more recent issue threatens to further delay the rolling out of 5G networks, which is the development of India’s own 5G standard.
What is 5Gi?
The deployment of 5G networks around the world are compliant with the 3GPP standards. To give a little insight into 3GPP and its role, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP in short) includes seven telecommunications standard development organizations, and this umbrella organization lays out the telecom protocols and specifications. Ever since 5G technology was launched on a global scale, 3GPP has served as the global standards body. Thus, countries that offer 5G networks abide by the standards put forward by 3GPP.
However, the Telecommunications Standards Development Society India (TSDSI), which is an autonomous organization that comes up with the standards for the telecom and information and communications technology (ICT) services in the country has proposed using its own technology, which is its 5G Radio Interface Technology, dubbed 5Gi. While 5Gi technology was developed to effectively address — and provide solution — for the digital divide between the rural and urban areas in the country in terms of 5G deployment, industry experts warn of dire consequences, including exorbitant 5G mobile phone costs, and a 30 – 40% increase in the 5G rollout costs.
How embracing 5Gi could prove to be counter-productive
Last year, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), after a thorough three-year evaluation of 5Gi technology, approved it as a global 5G standard. However, the use of India-specific 5G standards, according to experts, could not only cause interoperability issues, but will also lead to a significant increase in 5G rollout costs, and will also result in an increase in the prices of 5G mobile phones.
This is primarily down to the spectrum. Not getting into the technicalities, the 5Gi standard developed by TSDSI would warrant the deployment of 5G networks in the 3.4GHz band, while finalizing the inter-state distance (ISD) between mobile network towers at 12 kilometres. However, the 5G standards put forward by 3GPP call for the deployment of 5G services in 700Mz band, with the inter-state distance (ISD) proposed at 6 kilometres. Thus, the Indian telecom operators believe that this would warrant additional 5G equipment, while mobile phone manufacturers will have to design customized handsets just for the Indian consumers.
This, if true, will translate to lower smartphone sales in the country, while the cost of 5G-enabled handsets would also increase. What this also means is that Indians might not be able to use their 5G smartphones abroad, while foreigners travelling to India won’t be able to use their 5G handsets.
Fear of more delays
The telecom operators have also decried the acceptance of 5Gi standard, urging the telecom department to intervene, as they believe adopting India-specific standards would result in further delays in the deployment of 5G services in the country. If the fears of the telcos are proved to be true, it will further hamper India’s standing in the world of 5G technology, as a number of countries have already rolled out 5G networks for their smartphone users.
In effect, this will also render consumers’ hopes of purchasing the best phone under 30000 with the latest 5G technology . Not too long ago, brands like Xiaomi and Realme talked about offering 5G, but those costs could now increase if brands have to manufacture customized 5G-enabled handsets only for Indian smartphone users.
Smartphone brands would also be wary of the repercussions if 5Gi were to be accepted as the standard. This will directly result in low sales volumes, with low shipments stemming from the increased costs. However, TSDSI has played down such fears, and has given assurances pertaining to the inter-operability if 5Gi were to become the standard.
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