Why Is Airtel Not In Favour Of 5Gi Standard?

Reliance Jio and Airtel have found themselves in another battle, this time for having a different opinion on the home grown 5G standards 5Gi. Notably, the 5Gi standard is suggested by the Indian Institute of Technology under the supervision of Telecommunications Standards Development Society India.

Airtel is against the home grown standard as it might increase the entire cost of mobile devices and networks. Besides, this might affect the working between the two technologies.

"The more widely embraced ecosystem, the more innovation can happen. That doesn't contradict make in India. The ecosystem should be a common global ecosystem to be able to get lower prices and interoperability," said Gopal Vittal, the chief executive officer of Airtel.

Reliance Jio Is In Favour Of 5Gi Standard

On the other hand, Reliance Jio said that it is in favour of the 5Gi standard if it is good for the network and does not increase the costs. Therefore, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has asked the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) to come up with a new presentation and highlight all the pros and cons of the new standard.

Besides, TRAI said that COAI to evaluate the availability of the new technology (5Gi Indian standard) by telecom operators. The direction to COAI comes soon after DoT approved 13 applications for conducting 5G trials in India, including Reliance Jio, Airtel, and Vodafone-Idea. However, the approval comes as a major setback for Chinese gear makers.

5Gi Standard Might Delay The 5G Launch In India

It is worth mentioning that TSDSI developed 5Gi technology. The TSDSI said the new technology called 5Gi will provide proper coverage in rural areas too. Basically, it will work as a bridge between rural and urban areas.

In addition, TSDSI states that 5Gi technology has received support from other countries as it fulfils regional needs. However, it seems that the new technology might delay the trial auction as Airtel is not in favour of the new technology and wants to follow 3GPP standards.

Besides, TRAI has recently asked COAI to prepare a presentation, which clearly shows that the auction and rollout of the 5G network will delay in India.