5G In India: Mobile Phone Companies Seek Financial Support, Spectrum And Duty-Free Equipment Import From DoT

Smartphone companies have demanded extensive assistance from the government, including financial aid, spectrum in certain bands and duty-free import of telecom equipment, to begin field trials of fifth-generation (5G) technology, the Economic Times reports.

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) wrote a letter to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) asking them to provide financial assistance to the service providers. Further, the association also wants the DoT to give permissions, and waive off the network equipment purchase fee.

The DoT has already invited telecom operators and network vendors to undertake 5G-based pilots and showcase India-centric use cases by early 2019. The government is expecting commercial 5G services to be introduced in 2020.

While the DoT's wireless planning wing said that according to current rules, the free spectrum for 5G trials could be allocated only for 90 days, telcos and equipment vendors believe that they would need a year to complete field trials.

The Director-General of COAI, Ranjan S Mathews, in the seven-page letter said that the operators need to be allowed to select original equipment manufacturers alone with a single point contact for all necessary clearances for the initiatives.

The association also wants the DoT to confirm on the availability of the C Band (3300 MHz-3600 MHz) and the1800 MHz along with the 26 GHz and 28 GHz Millimetre Wave (mmWave) spectrum bands for last-mile connectivity required as other countries are launching 5g services on them

“The number of test subscribers for the trial period should be based on the agreement between telecom service providers and equipment makers,” he said.