The way forward on 5G

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    In a significant relief to telecom gear makers and telcos, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has extended the date for mandatory testing and certification of 4G and 5G products within India by one year to July 1, 2023.

    About 

    • Telcos and equipment makers had made it clear that the previous July 1 deadline, if implemented, would seriously jeopardise the rollout of 5G services from the end of this year as there are not enough third-party labs to test 4G and 5G products. 

    5G Technology 

    • It is the latest upgrade in the long-term evolution (LTE) mobile broadband networks. 
    • It mainly works in 3 bands, namely low, mid and high frequency spectrum — all of which have their own uses as well as limitations.

    Global progress on 5G

    • More than governments, global telecom companies have started building 5G networks and rolling it out to their customers on a trial basis.
    •  In countries like the US, companies such as AT&T, T-mobile, and Verizon have taken the lead when it comes to rolling out commercial 5G for their users.
    • In other countries such as China, some of the telcos such as China Unicom had started 5G trials as early as 2018, and have since rolled out the commercial services for users.
    • South Korean company Samsung, which had started researching 5G technology way back in 2011, has, on the other hand, taken the lead when it comes to building the hardware for 5G networks for several companies.

    India’s Progress 

    • In 2018,India had planned to start 5G services as soon as possible, with an aim to capitalise on the better network speeds and strength that the technology promised.
    • Recently, the Prime Minister of India inaugurated the country’s first 5G testbed that will enable start-ups and industry players to test their products locally, thereby reducing dependence on facilities abroad.
    • India currently has 3G and 4G telecom networks and companies are gearing up to launch 5G.
      • India is targeting the rollout of a 6G telecom network, which will provide ultra-high-speed internet connectivity, by the end of the decade.
      • it is estimated that the 5G network rollout will add $450 billion to the Indian economy.

    Advantages 

    • High speeds
      • 5G works faster on mobile phones and other devices when compared to 4G and 4G LTE. 
    • Low latency 
      • 5G has low latency when compared to 4G that will support new applications such as AI, IoT, and virtual reality efficiently. 
      • It enables mobile phone users to open a web page and browse things without any hassles. 
    • Increased capacity 
      • 5G has the capacity to deliver up to 100 times more capacity than 4G. 
      • It allows companies to switch between cellular and Wi-Fi wireless strategies that will help a lot to experience better performance. 
    • More bandwidth 
      • It increases the bandwidth that will help transfer the data as soon as possible. 
        • Mobile phone users can ensure a faster connection with more bandwidth after choosing a 5G network. 
    • Powering innovation 
      • 5G technology is the perfect choice for connecting with a whole range of different devices including drones and sensors. 
      • It gives ways to power the adoption of IoT allowing industries to enhance their productivity and other things. 
    • Less tower congestion
      • 4G cellular networks often get congested which will result in various problems while accessing important data.
        • 5G networks allow users to avoid them due to better speed and more bandwidth. 
    • 5G places a lot of importance on energy efficiency. This will mean lower energy bills for service providers and longer battery life for mobile devices.
    • 5G technology will bring positive change in the governance of the country, ease of living, and ease of doing business.
      • It will boost growth in agriculture, health, education, infrastructure, and logistics.

    Challenges 

    • Limited global coverage
      • It has limited global coverage and is available only in specific locations.
      • Only cities can benefit a lot from the 5G network and remote areas may not get the coverage for some years. 
    • Heating issues with the device 
      • Mobile phones need better battery technology while using a 5G connection. Many phone users say that they experience more heat on their devices while running 5G. 
    • Weakened device batteries 
      • Phones that use a 5G connection will result in a huge battery drain that reduces the lifespan to a large extent. 
    • Cybersecurity 
      • Cybersecurity is one of the drawbacks of 5G because it will result in hacking. 
        • The expansion in the bandwidth enables criminals to steal the database with ease. 
      • As 5G connects with more devices, the chances of attacks are very high. 
    • Lack of encryption early in the connection process
      • 5G lacks encryption and hackers can plan their attacks with more precision that will affect the companies to a large extent. 
      • More bandwidth will strain current security monitoring and the network requires security measures to prevent cyber threats. 
    • High Cost
    • The expenses for setting tower stations are high when compared to other networks. 
    • Lack of a clear road map of spectrum allocation and 5G frequency bands.
      • There is an ongoing debate between the regulator, TRAI and the Digital Communications Commission (DCC) on whether 5G spectrum should be assigned to companies like TCS, Amazon and Google, among others, for their private enterprise business. 
    • 5G spectrum assignment for enterprises would likewise adversely affect the business model of telcos. 

    Conclusion and Way Forward 

    • Identifying end users and population 
      • The immediate priority for India will be in identifying end users and population to be covered, analysis of the existing network and operators, identification of cities for the 5G roll out, working out an investment model, and minimisation of the digital risk and pricing based on the externalities and usage of various sectors. 
    • Careful Planning 
      • The deployment of 5G in India needs to be carefully planned after a cost benefit analysis by independent experts which will create a level-playing field through market mechanisms such as facilitating, simulating, auctioning, ensuring competition, functioning markets, etc.
    • Requires changes to the core architecture
      • 5G will require a fundamental change to the core architecture of the communication system and India should be ready with a robust, scalable, and intelligent infrastructure that is capable of handling massive traffic growth.
    • Providing level playing field
      • The imminent 5G networks demand massive investment and sophistication of operations. 
        • This will not be achieved unless the playing field is level across the relevant operators and honest incentives are provided to operators to embrace new technology.
    • 5G users should follow some other measures to minimise unwanted problems. 

    With increased capacity, lower latency, and energy efficiency, 5G is expected to significantly improve the state of art and enable new applications

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