More Delays in 5G Rollout?
A recent report by ET Telecom suggests that the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has ordered the mandatory testing of all imported network gear in India, starting July 1. The testing could see hurdles as the local labs are still not well versed with testing the foreign equipment.
A major Network Vendor Executive, in a statement to ET Telecom, said, “Testing and certification of network gear is highly complex and the Indian labs’ ecosystem is working overtime to gain this expertise…but since they will be testing radio equipment for the first time, they need more time to move up the learning curve as training efforts have been hindered by the pandemic, shortage of skilled manpower and restrictions on international travel.“
It is said that this could also disrupt the timely supply of network gears to the telecom operators. As a result, the 5G rollout in India could see a potential delay. The decision to locally test all network gear has been authorized by DoT’s technical arm, the Telecom Engineering Centre (TEC).
Due to the whole situation, the DoT wants the initial 5G testing timeline to be extended to January 1, 2023. Earlier, this was supposed to start in July this year and the initial rollout was expected in August, in time for this year’s Independence Day.
For those who don’t know, the Indian Government is expected to conduct 5G spectrum auctions in June or July, although, an official timeline isn’t known. This came after the government confirmed the commencement of the auctions this year during the Union Budget 2022 session.
It is also reported that 2G could be exempted from the local network gear testing. Pending 4G expansion in certain regions is also expected to take a hit. So, what do you think about this new update on the 5G rollout in India? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
