DoT Allot Spectrum To Jio, Airtel, And Vi To Start 5G Trials In India

DoT has finally approved spectrum bands for conducting 5G trials in the country. The telecom ministry allocated 700 MHz, 3.5 GHz, and 26 GHz bands to Reliance Jio, Airtel, and Vodafone-Idea to start the trials. Notably, DoT has not allowed Chinese vendors to participate in the trials, which means none of the telecom operator is allowed to partner with them.

The wireless planning and coordination of the telecom ministry has allotted 800, 100, and 10 units in the 3.5 GHz, 26 GHz, and 700 MHz respectively. The ministry allocated these bands to Reliance Jio, Airtel, and Vodafone-Idea for conducting trails in six months.

Interestingly, the allotment of these bands is important for Reliance Jio and Airtel as both have a 5G ready network. Besides, Airtel and Jio are enhancing their spectrum presence in all 22 circles as data usage has been increased during the COVID 19 crisis.

It is worth noting that this is the first time that DoT allocated a millimeter wave (mmWave) band between 24.25 to 28.5 GHz frequencies for the trials.

This comes after telcos asked the ministry to add the mmWave band in the trails as other suggested bands are likely to increase the cost of deployment, which might make 5G services unaffordable to users. However, none of the telecom operators announced or shared anything on the same front.

DoT Approved 13 Applications For 5G Trials

Earlier this month, the Department of Telecommunication allotted mid-band, sub-GHz, mmWave band, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, and 2500 MHz to conduct the trials in the country.

"The applicant TSPs (telecom service providers) include Bharti Airtel Ltd, Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, Vodafone Idea Ltd, and MTNL. These TSPs have tied up with original equipment manufacturers and technology providers, which are Ericsson, Nokia, Samsung and C-DOT," the DoT said.

It seems that the Government might add these affordable bands into the National Frequency Allocation Policy, which has been not revised by the ministry despite telcos seeking to add the same airwaves. However, we expect that even getting a 5G spectrum from the Government via auction, telcos might three years to roll out the services in the country.