The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has informed the parliamentary panel on IT that 5G trials will start in two to three months. The telecom department has already received 16 applications for 5G field trials using both indigenous and imported technologies. However, the panel is not happy with how the telecom department has gone about the 5G business. According to an ET Telecom report, the panel said that what has happened is in complete contradiction from what DoT had informed the committee during the examination of Demands for Grants in February 2020 — more details on the story ahead.
Parliamentary Panel asks DoT Why 5G Trials Haven’t Been Allowed Until Now
The panel has asked DoT why it hasn’t allowed any 5G trials to occur until now when there were no major issues surrounding it in the country. The panel noted that the telecom service providers (TSPs) had submitted their applications for conducting 5G trials in January 2020, yet, there has been a huge delay, and it hasn’t happened until now. The committee said that if there are any more delays in the testing of 5G, it will further lead to delays in its launch. However, the telecom department is said to be working with different departments and ministries to set up India’s specific 5G use case labs. DoT has also approved for the development of 5G use case labs in the financial sector. The report from the parliamentary panel has revealed that DoT will allow 5G trials to take place in the next two to three months. It will allow the trials to take place in a limited area and time to test the India specific 5G use cases. The spectrum auction for the 5G airwaves in the 3300-3600 MHz is still going to take a bit of time, so the rollout of 5G services is not expected until late 2021 or early 2022.
