The Indian telecom sector is all set to begin the commercial roll-out of 5G networks. The advent of 5G is going to benefit both consumers and enterprises in a big way. Recognising this, stakeholders including the government, telecom operators, telecom equipment manufacturers and infrastructure players had started working much before the 5G spectrum auctions to establish a robust 5G ecosystem. These stakeholders have been collaborating to test use cases that can truly expand India’s digital horizons. Further, the country is keen on facilitating the roll-out of private 5G networks.
A look at the evolving 5G landscape in the Indian market…
Market trends
According to the Ericsson Mobility Report 2022, 5G is expected to account for nearly 40 per cent of all subscriptions in India by 2027. Further, 56 per cent of the total mobile data traffic in the country will be carried by 5G networks in 2027. This data represents the massive opportunity that 5G presents for the Indian telecom market.
Government encourages 5G use cases
Government entities, particularly the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), have been instrumental in enabling stakeholders to test various India-specific 5G use cases. DoT began conducting preliminary meetings on 5G spectrum trials with telecom service providers (TSPs) and equipment vendors as early as 2020 to gauge their preparedness and expectations from the government.
DoT then consulted the Wireless Planning and Coordination (WPC) committee to discuss spectrum allocation. Upon receiving the WPC’s approval, DoT allocated trial spectrum to its licensee TSPs, which then chose to partner with telecom equipment vendors.
Near the end of 2020, DoT constituted working groups to explore the implementation of 5G across eight different sectors: agriculture, fintech, transportation, education, water and sewage management, Industry 4.0, and smart grids. The Telecommunication Engineering Centre led the task of preparing reports on these use cases.
In March 2022, DoT announced that it is setting up test labs in collaboration with 14 other ministries and departments to explore 5G use cases for the respective departments. To this end, DoT stated that it would be conducting focused interactive sessions on digital use cases/applications leveraging communication technologies such as 5G/4G-Advanced and internet of things (IoT).
TRAI, too, has been active in this domain. Recently, in July 2022, it initiated 5G network pilots in Bhopal Smart City, at GMR International Airport in Delhi, Kandla’s Deendayal port and Namma Metro Bengaluru, to test the use of street furniture for small cells and aerial fibre deployment. TSPs such as Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea Limited (Vi) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited participated in these pilots at different locations. According to TRAI, these pilots will be helpful in making cross-sectoral infrastructure more accessible, enabling the quick roll-out of 5G networks for telcos.
Launch of an indigenous 5G test bed
Another major development on the 5G front has been the launch of the country’s first 5G test bed to support the telecom industry and start-ups in validating their products, prototypes and solutions in 5G, as well as next-generation technologies. The development of the 5G testbed was a multi-institute collaborative project. A total of eight institutes participated in it: IIT Delhi, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Bombay, IIT Kanpur, IISc Bangalore, Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering and Research, Centre of Excellence in Wireless Technology, and IIT Madras as the leader. The project was undertaken at an estimated cost of Rs 2.2 billion.
Recently, the government started offering the use of the 5G test bed free of cost to government-recognised start-ups and micro, small and medium enterprises till January 2023, to boost the 5G ecosystem within India. It is available at a very nominal rate to all other stakeholders.
DoT has strongly urged all 5G stakeholders, including industry, academia, service providers, research and development institutions, government bodies, and equipment manufacturers to utilise the 5G testbed’s facilities and expertise to test and facilitate the speedy development and deployment of their products.
Telcos push the pedal
Backed by government support, telecom operators, too, have been actively scaling up their efforts to roll out 5G. TSPs have tested numerous India-specific 5G use cases including healthcare, industrial automation, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). For instance, in the healthcare domain, Vi, in partnership with Ericsson, has conducted a trial to test the potential of 5G connectivity to enable access to healthcare in remote parts of the country. During the trial, the high data speed, low latency and high reliability of 5G enabled a doctor located in an urban centre to carry out an ultrasound scan on a patient in a remote rural location. Vi and Ericsson also demonstrated the enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) and fixed wireless access (FWA) use cases of 5G.
Further, Airtel has entered into a partnership with Apollo Hospitals and Cisco to create a 5G-connected ambulance. The demonstration was conducted in Bengaluru over the 5G trial spectrum allotted to Airtel by DoT. The custom-designed state-of-the-art 5G-connected ambulance was equipped with the latest medical equipment, patient monitoring applications and telemetry devices transmitting the patient’s health data to the hospital in real time.
Operators have also been actively testing other 5G use cases. For instance, Reliance Jio has done active trials of 5G use cases such as AR/VR, network slicing, connected hospitals and industrial applications. The key use cases demonstrated by Jio include eMBB, FWA, 5G-enabled drones, cloud gaming, 8K YouTube video streaming, virtual collaboration, immersive experiences, Jio Glass, 5G robotics, healthcare applications, Jio Apps over 5G, and IoT-based monitoring for energy management and smart home solutions.
Airtel, too, has tested several use cases with multiple partners at many locations. These include demonstrating India’s first 5G experience over a live 4G network in Hyderabad, conducting a rural 5G trial and testing the first cloud gaming experience on 5G. Meanwhile, Vi has tested Industry 4.0 applications and smart mobile edge computing in collaboration with A5G Networks, Inc. As part of the trial, Vi and A5G Networks together set up a pilot private network in Mumbai utilising the existing 4G spectrum, and showcased industrial automation use cases, enterprise applications and low latency scenarios.
In July 2022, Vi conducted a trial on the use of street furniture for small cells and aerial fibre deployment at Namma Metro, Bengaluru, as part of TRAI’s pilot project. In this pilot, Vi demonstrated a 5G download speed of 1.2 Gbps on a mobile handset at the MG Road station. Vi conducted similar trials at Bhopal Smart City, New Delhi International Airport and Kandla port in Gujarat. It also demonstrated 5G voice over new radio with its technology partner Nokia during its 5G trials in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
Moving towards private 5G networks
In line with global markets, the Indian government has taken steps to facilitate the deployment of private networks. In June 2022, the government issued guidelines for captive non-public network (CNPN) licences, to establish the legal framework for CNPNs. The guidelines state that enterprises seeking to establish CNPNs may obtain spectrum on lease from telecom service providers, or directly from DoT. These guidelines also provide that DoT will undertake demand studies for direct assignment of spectrum to enterprises setting up CNPNs. Further, DoT has started the process of undertaking demand studies for direct assignment of spectrum to enterprises setting up CNPN and has invited participation for the same. To facilitate this, DoT has launched a module on the Saral Sanchar portal for carrying out the demand studies. It has informed that enterprises that have a net worth of over Rs 1 billion and are willing to set up CNPNs by obtaining spectrum directly from DoT have been invited to participate in the exercise.
Among operators, Bharti Airtel has conducted trials of the country’s first 5G private network at a Bosch Automotive Electronics India Private Limited facility in Bengaluru. The company’s on-premises 5G captive private network was built over the trial 5G spectrum allocated by DoT.
Further, Adani Data Networks (the new entrant with intentions to set up private networks) has bought 400 MHz of the 26 GHz mmWave band across six circles for Rs 2.12 billion in the 5G spectrum auctions. It has bought airwaves in Gujarat, Mumbai, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan.
The way forward
Net, net, stakeholders across the Indian telecom domain have been actively working to hasten commercial roll-out of 5G services. As telcos finally make the leap to the 5G world, it will be interesting to see how the entire 5G ecosystem, comprising innovative use cases, unfolds in the country.