Reliance Jio has switched on its 5G field trial network using their own indigenously developed 5G equipment and technology in Mumbai. It is not doing this alone, it is engaging with other vendors as well such as Samsung.
Ericcson and Nokia are other brands looking to start 5G trials in other cities in the near future.
Jio’s network went live rather quickly after receiving a trial spectrum from the Department of Telecommunications. An insider in the operation said that Jio is using both mid and mm-wave bands with standalone architecture for 5G trials in Mumbai.
Jio is looking to extend their trials of 5G in other urban areas such as Delhi, Mumbai, Gujarat, and Hyderabad. They have already applied for trials there.
The DoT had recently allocated a 5G trial spectrum in the 700 MHz, 3.5GHz, and 26GHz bands to Airtel, Jio, and Vodafone Idea with the condition that they develop India-relevant use cases on the next-gen wireless broadband technology.
Recently, Airtel had also switched on its 5G trial network in Gurgaon’s Cyber Hub om the Millenium city in partnership with Swedish gear maker Ericsson. Airtel’s site is operating in the 3500MHz band and is delivering throughout of over 1 GBPS.
So far Airtel has secured allotments to begin 5G trials in Delhi/NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Bangalore.
Allotment of 5G trial spectrum is extremely crucial for Jio and Airtel as they already have 5G -ready networks and have recently bulked up on crucial airwaves in the recent auction to cater to the increase in data usage especially considering the COVID situation and also to future-proof themselves ahead of 5G rollouts.
Jio has already concluded in the development of an end-to-end 5G stack, including 5G radio and core network solutions.
Jio revealed that they have already concluded the testing of their 5G radio and core solution, which will enable a self-sufficient and cost-effective rollout.
Jio’s parent, Jio Platforms is also working with Original Equipment Manufacturers on standardizing 5G device configurations. Jio Platforms had recently announced that they are partnering up with chipmaker Qualcomm for the indigenous production of equipment critical to the establishment of their 5G network.
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