Ushering in the 5G network

While the Telecom Ministry’s decision to allow mobile operators to start 5G trials from June onwards is a welcome development, there are three things that the Centre must do immediately to hasten the adoption of 5G. First, lay down a clear roadmap of spectrum availability and earmark frequency bands aligned with the global standards, since 5G services will be supporting massive data applications and operators will need adequate spectrum; Second, there is a need to move away from the existing mechanism of pricing spectrum on a per MHz basis. 5G services require at least 80-100 Mhz of contiguous spectrum per operator. If the Centre were to fix the floor price based on the per Mhz price realised in the last auction then no operator would be able to afford 5G spectrum. The pricing therefore will have to be worked out afresh keeping in mind the financial stress in the telecom sector and affordability of services. Finally, the Centre must complete the national optical fibre network rollout on a mission mode as 5G services will require huge backhaul support for which existing microwave platforms will not be sufficient.

This technology will enable delivery of critical services such as tele-surgery and Internet of Things over a mobile network with unprecedented efficiency, in addition to opening the floodgates for innovative applications that requires massive amount of high speed bandwidth. The biggest benefit for millions of mobile users in a country like India, where call drops and poor data connectivity have become the norm, is that 5G promises to make wireless networks close to what wireline broadband network offers — uninterrupted service and unlimited bandwidth. Traditional wireless technologies such as 2G and 3G work on a shared network concept. This means that users in an area share resources like spectrum and radio base station capacities while making calls or browsing the Internet. As a result, the quality of service would drop if there are more number of users in a particular area. On the other hand in a fixed line environment, the quality of service is not dependant on the number of users at any given time because a dedicated cable connects the consumer’s premises directly to the operator’s exchange. Globally, most developed countries have rolled out nationwide optical fibre cable network to give citizens access to unhindered broadband access which in turn has added to their GDP growth. Unfortunately, in India, the growth of fixed line broadband has been dismal so far.

Historically, India has been slow to adopt wireless telecom technologies. For example, users here first experienced 3G services 10 years after they were launched in advanced European countries. India cannot afford to repeat its past mistakes if it wants to be counted among the truly digitised countries.

COMMENT NOW