In a significant development, Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd has applied to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for spectrum allocation for the field trials of its indigenously developed 5G network, as per the Business Standard report.
The telecom provider has requested the telecom department to allocate 800Mhz (megahertz) spectrum each in both the mmWave bands as well as 100MHz in the 3.5Ghz band, as per the news report. The development comes after Reliance announced that its telecom unit has created a complete 5G solution, using 100% homegrown technologies that would allow it to start next-gen, high-speed 5G 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 said at the company’s AGM (Annual General Meeting). According to experts, the trials will enable India to sell its own 5G technology to the world through Jio. Moreover, the trials will allow the Mukesh Ambani-owned firm to take on global telecom gear makers like ZTE, Huawei, and others.
It is worth mentioning here that countries like China, South Korea, the United States, the UK, Australia, Japan, and several European countries have already launched 5G services. On the other hand, India has delayed the 5G spectrum auction until 2021 thanks to the unavailability of use cases and lack of interest from some private telecom operators.
It is to be noted that Jio had earlier sought DoT’s approval for 5G trials with other telecom gear makers. However, the trials are still pending because of the lack of clarity on Huawei.