Reliance Jio seeks telecom department’s permission to do 5G lab testing, says report

To test its in-house-built 5G products, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio has sought permission from the telecom department to do lab testing, according to a report published by the Financial Express.

Sources said the telecom giant applied for lab testing a few weeks ago. “We are looking at the Reliance Jio proposal and a call will be taken soon,” sources in DoT told Financial Express.  Notably, there is no involvement of any third party in lab testing. In other words, on receiving permission, the company has to do everything on its own.

It must be recalled that the signal is limited to the company’s premises in lab testing. Also, there’s no need for spectrum allocation as it’s for indoor purposes. However, permission is required from the Department of Telecommunications for spectrum usage. The allocation of the spectrum depends on the necessity and technological capabilities, according to the guidelines.

Also, the company needs an import license to import 5G equipment, and hence it has sought permission from the DoT, according to the news report.  To recap, lab testing is very much different from field trials owing to their bigger size and involvement of the general public. Jio, as well as other telecom operators, had also applied for 5G field trials but the government is yet to grant permission to any company.

The 5G trials would give a sound understanding of the security issues involved in the operation of 5G networks and other related concerns that need to be addressed, according to DoT officials.