At a time when the 5G spectrum auctions appear to have been delayed till next year, industry body COAI has said that the government should facilitate creation of indigenous IPR around the high-speed mobile technology by developing local use cases through engagement with start-ups and businesses.

DG, COAI, said that the government should use the intervening period to carry out the groundwork related to the technology, especially with regards to developing India-specific solutions around the network and usage.

Phone companies have urged telecom secretary to speed up the formation of a key inter-ministerial panel to finalise India’s 5G spectrum deployment game plan that will be discussed at a key meeting of the International Telecom Union (ITU) next month.

The move comes after telcos recently urged the government to allot sub-3500 MHz 5G spectrum free of cost for 5G fixed wireless services to augment networks capacities at a time when existing 4G networks are facing severe capacity constraints amid surging home internet consumption during the Covid19 lockdowns.