Huawei Partners With Airtel And Vodafone-Idea For 5G Trials In India: Report

Ever since Huawei got approval from the government for the 5G trials, it is looking for partnerships with telecom operators. And now, it has been reported that the telecom gear maker has joined hands with Airtel and Vodafone for the trials.

"Huawei has partnered with Bharti Airtel for trials in Bengaluru and with Vodafone Idea to hold trials in Delhi. The telcos have already submitted the applications," one person aware of the development was quoted by livemint. However, Huawei has not given any confirmation on the same.

The government has recently met all telecom operators to discuss the 5G deployment in the country. In addition, the government has approved the plan to auction the 5G spectrum in March-April this year.

This development comes at that time when Huawei is facing troubles from the United States government. Earlier, the US has raised questions on the security concerns as the former believes that the company is sharing confidential details with the Chinese government. However, the company has denied these allegations earlier.

The report also states that Japan and Australia have already prohibited Huawei and now Canada and New Zealand are expected to follow the same. On the other hand, countries like Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, South Korea, Russia, and Turkey have allowed Huawei.

Meanwhile, Economic Times reported that Airtel, Vodafone, and Reliance Jio have submitted their 5G applications for the 5G trials. "Telcos have asked for spectrum in mid-band, millimeter-wave and anchor 4G bands to conduct 5G field trials," a person close to the matter was quoted by the newspaper.

He said, "Huawei will work with Vodafone Idea and Airtel in Delhi and Bengaluru, respectively for 5G trials. Samsung and Jio will do the trial in Mumbai. Nokia and Ericsson will have similar arrangements with both VIL and Airtel for trials."

The government is all set to start to trails by February end. The upcoming new 5G technology is likely to boost the speed and it will be helpful for education, manufacturing, and agriculture.