India’s Department of Telecom (DoT) has approved the applications of domestic mobile operators to roll out 5G trials. Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea and MTNL can now start 5G trials on the local market.
These operators are authorised to use equipment provided by Ericsson, Nokia, Samsung and C-Dot. Reliance Jio will also use its own indigenous technology for these trials.
These trials will be rolled out for a period of six months, including two months for procurement and setting up of the necessary equipment.
Airtel, Jio, Vodafone Idea and MTNL have received permission to use experimental spectrum in various bands, including 3.2 GHz - 3.67 GHz; 24.25 GHz - 28.5 GHz; and 700 GHz. The operators can also use their existing spectrum (800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2500 MHz) to conduct their 5G trials.
