NEW DELHI: India’s top telecom operator Reliance Jio has announced that the government will upgrade traditional 2G and 3G networks to avoid unnecessary network costs and enable all customers to migrate to new 4G and 5G networks. He suggested that a policy be devised to shut down the park. Vodafone Idea (Vi) has also recommended that 2G customers should upgrade to the 4G/5G era to enjoy the latest digital services.
“Governments need to come up with a policy and glide path to completely shut down 2G and 3G networks to avoid unnecessary network costs and allow all customers to move to 4G and 5G services. This will give a major impetus to the development of the ecosystem for 5G use cases,” Jio said in a statement to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) consultation paper on ‘Digital Transformation with 5G Ecosystem’. I mentioned it in my answer.
While Jio does not have a 2G network, rivals Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea have large footprints of 2G networks.
“A significant portion of the country’s population generally uses older technologies, i.e. 2G, and is unable to access new generation technologies, i.e. 4G and 5G, despite the availability of connectivity,” Vi said separately. stated in the submission.
Vi said that the inability of users to switch to smartphones due to the price of the device means that users will continue to use older technology and lose access to digital services, and that they will “eventually update to the latest digital technology and information. It is highly likely that it will not be possible.” service”,
“Such barriers will not only further widen the digital divide, but will also impact the ecosystem of 5G use cases, so resolving them will require concerted efforts and support from governments,” Vi said. .
Jio further said that spectrum allocation is critical to developing an ecosystem for 5G use cases in India, and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has earmarked the 6GHz band, the full C-band and all In addition to the 28GHz spectrum (on a flexible usage basis), there will also be an auction for E-band and V-band.
“Dense 5G implementation will require vast amounts of spectrum. In addition to all the spectrum bands already auctioned and plans to auction spectrum in the E-band and V-band, the authorities Auctions for the 6 GHz band, full C-band, and 28 GHz band (on a flexible usage basis) should also be planned.”
Jio said all frequency bands identified for IMT (mobility services) and those covered by IMT should be made available to carriers. “Furthermore, all available spectrum should be auctioned on a regular basis. This should be complemented by a clear policy position against the delicensing of spectrum to quell periodic noise. Yes,” the carrier said.
Indian carriers have been requesting the 6 GHz band for IMT as it is critical to meeting the country’s connectivity goals and future spectrum requirements for 5G and 6G. But technology companies want to be able to unlicense and allocate spectrum without an auction as Wi-Fi proliferates in the country.
Note that the entire 6GHz band includes 1200MHz spectrum (5925MHz to 7125MHz). The World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) in December 2023 certified 7025-7125 MHz (100 MHz) for IMT worldwide. This means the spectrum is readily available.
In Region 1, another 600 MHz (6425-7025 MHz), also known as the upper 6 GHz band, is open for IMT. The WRC has paved the way for all countries, including India, to opt-in to this spectrum for his IMT.
Region 1 includes Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, Region 2 includes the Americas, and Region 3 includes Asia Pacific.
A carrier wants to reserve the entire 6GHz band (1200MHz) for mobile services. Once this spectrum is identified for his IMT in India in the next few years, operators will be able to buy it at auction for his 5G and 6G needs. Telcos will be in trouble if a band or a particular quantum of it is delicensed because there will not be enough spectrum to meet their connectivity needs, especially as 5G matures and 6th generation or 6G is deployed. It is claimed that it will fall.
