Huawei has reportedly been allowed to participate in 5G trials in India by the government, according to IANS. The approval should come as a major breakthrough for Huawei as the company is facing a ban by the U.S for spying using telecom equipment. Considering the scrutiny Huawei is facing globally, this should come as a major relief for the company.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) said it will provide trial spectrum to all the major players in the telecom sector and these operators can each choose their own partners. Earlier in December, DoT approved prices for 5G spectrum auction which will offer around 6050MHz of air waves for 5G connectivity.
Commenting on the development, Jay Chen, Huawei CEO told IANS, “We thank the Indian government for their continued faith in Huawei. We firmly believe that only technology innovations and high quality networks will be the key to rejuvenating the Indian telecom industry. We have our full confidence in the Modi Government to drive 5G in India. We have our full confidence in Indian Government and industry to partner with best technology for India's own long term benefit and also for cross industry development. Huawei is always committed to India.”
The Digital Communication Commission (DCC) which is the highest policy-making body of the Telecom Ministry said on December 20 that spectrum auctions will be held in March-April in 2020. This auction will see 5G spectrum sale for the first time.
Interestingly, India is planning to operate in the sub-6GHz frequencies to enable 5G connectivity. As a result, while the coverage will definitely get a big boost, unless the spectrum of mmWave is also auctioned, we won’t be seeing speeds of over 1Gbps any time soon.