Context: Recently, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has sought inputs from telcos and other industry experts on the sale and use of radio frequency spectrum over the next 10 years, including the 5G bands.

5G Technology

• 5G is the 5th generation mobile network.
• A new global wireless standard after 1G, 2G, 3G, and 4G networks.
• 5G wireless technology is meant to deliver higher multi-Gbps (gigabytes per second) peak data speeds, ultra-low latency, more reliability, massive network capacity, increased availability, and a more uniform user experience to more users.

How is 5G different from previous networks?

• 1G: Introduced the first analog cell phones to the world.
• 2G: SMS (Short Message Service) and voicemail were introduced to mobile handsets.
• 3G: Higher data transfer rates enabled mobile web browsing, image sharing and GPS location-tracking.
• 4G: Broadband delivers deep web functionality to smartphones.
• 5G is a unified & more capable air interface, designed with an extended capacity to enable next-generation user experiences, empower new deployment models and deliver new services.

Data speed in 5G is expected to be around 10 Gbps.

• 5G network is being designed for less than 1 millisecond latency.
• Handsets are expected to have much longer battery life than ever before.
• 5G is expected to use higher frequency bands (30-300 GHz) which will provide better capacity, bandwidth scalability and lesser interference.

Challenges of implementing 5G technology in India
The need for spectrum

• Full-fledged 5G trials are still pending which is needed for telecom operators to test their technology.

Expensive spectrum

• Too expensive for telecom companies.
• Operators are still under the pressure of keeping 4G costs low.

Affordability of 5G devices

• Affordable 5G phones yet to be introduced in the market.

Infrastructure

• Currently, India has around 550,000 towers.
• The country will require additional around 100,000 towers per year over the next 2-3 years.

Lack of fibre

• Only about 25-30 per cent of telecom towers are connected by fibre links.
• 5G will require at least 50-60 per cent of towers to be connected by fibre.

India’s standing in 5G technology race

• Beginning early: India in 2018, on par with the global players, had planned to start 5G services as soon as possible, with an aim to capitalise on the better network speeds and strength that the technology promised. 

Hurdles

• No clear roadmap: All the three private telecom players (Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vi), have been urging the DoT to lay out a clear road map of spectrum allocation and 5G frequency bands. This would help them to plan the roll out of their services accordingly. 
• Inadequate capital: Inadequate capital with at least two of the three private players (Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea). On the other hand, Reliance Jio plans to launch an indigenously built 5G network for the country as early as possible.
• This solution can also be deployed by other telecom operators as a complete managed service. 

Global progress on 5G

• Private players taking the lead: More than governments, global telecom companies have started building 5G networks and rolling it out to their customers on a trial basis. For example, US companies such as AT&T, T-mobile, and Verizon have taken the lead. 
• China: Chinese telecom companies like Unicom had started 5G trials as early as 2018, and have since rolled out the commercial services for users. 
• South Korea: Companies like Samsung had started researching on 5G technology way back in 2011 and took the lead when it comes to building the hardware for 5G networks for several companies.