DoT To Direct Telcos To Carry Out 5G Tests In Rural Areas As Well; MTNL May Join Trials Soon: Report

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is set to appeal to the telecom operators to carry out 5G technology trials in rural areas along with urban locations for which they have already been given permission.

As of now, the trio of Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel have been provided the trial spectrum for six months to assess the 5G tech in the country. Moreover, MTNL is also likely to receive the trial spectrum once it submits the required fee of Rs 5,000 crore for the necessary permission.

“The DoT will ask telecom operators to include rural areas for testing 5G applications along with their urban centres,” a concerned official was quoted by the Economic Times.

Additionally, the likes of Samsung, Nokia, C-DOT and Ericsson have also secured approvals from the DoT for their respective 5G trials. The tests will be held in multiple locations in Gujarat, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Delhi and Mumbai.

The application of 5G in Indian settings that include drone-based agriculture monitoring, tele-medicine, tele-education will be assessed amidst the trials. Operators will also test several 5G devices on their networks as the DoT believes that the 5G technology is slated to deliver a download speed that is 10 times better than that of 4G.