Several operators and vendors in India have petitioned the country’s government to grant them 12-month 5G spectrum licences which would allow them to carry out more rigorous field testing.
The ‘big three’ operators Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio were joined by Cisco, Ericsson, Nokia and Samsung in sending proposals to the Indian Department of Telecom (DoT). Ericsson was forced to shut down 5G testing at its Indian innovation lab earlier this week due to its spectrum licence expiring.
Speaking to The Economic Times (ET), COAI (Cellular Operators Association of India) director general Rajan Mathews said: “It is expected that the duration of the trial would be for a year with an initial three months for all the preparations and clearances.”
The DoT has thus far refused to allocate spectrum for trial purposes for longer than 90 days, but the industry body is demanding longer trial periods in order to obtain more useful data. COAI is also calling for swifter approvals for test requests, with Mathews telling the ET “we are expecting positive outcomes in the form of a one-year period for trials.”
