5G launch in India likely delayed following new government rules

There are mixed responses to this move. Senior industry executives opine that DoT’s insistence on in-country testing of network equipment by local labs recognised by its technical arm and Telecom Engineering Centre (TEC) could disrupt the timely supply of gear to telecom networks.

5G India rollout delayed by DoT

Department of telecom wants to test the imported network gear for safety and this could delay the rollout of the 5G network across the country. The department wants the in-country testing to be extended to January 1st, 2023 from the current July 1st deadline. This delay is because the local labs are yet to gain the necessary expertise to undertake comprehensive testing of the latest imported gear.

“Testing and certification of network gear are highly complex and the Indian lab’s 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,” a top executive of leading global networks said to ET.

Separately, network vendors have urged the government to exempt 2G network gear from the mandatory local testing drill. “We’ve pointed out to the government that while 2G technology is being phased out in many countries, it’s still needed in India to support nearly 280 million 2G users, and so should be exempted from the MTCTE regime to ensure unhindered delivery of 2G services,” said the executive.

Another industry executive has said that to ensure zero disruptions to ongoing and upcoming 4G/5G network rollouts, it’s a must for the government to defer the local testing implementation date to January 1, 2023. Apparently, some telecom networks have even lobbied with the government to push the deadline further to July 1st, 2023.

As for the government, it is planning on having the 5G auction in the June-July timeline and the first 5G call by the August-September timeframe. Any implementation of the July 1st 2022 local testing deadline is likely to hit a host of pending 4G expansions.

Industry experts said that any large-scale disruption of 4G gear supplies would automatically disrupt 5G rollouts. “The government must realise that 5G will be riding on existing 4G networks, and hence operators will be investing in their 4G networks along with 5G technology. So if 4G networks expansion is in a disarray, it will have a direct fallout on the proposed 5G launches in India,” said a senior telco executive.