Top trade and technology bodies from the US and UK have told the Indian government to adopt the 5G standards that have been recommended by the 3GPP. India is currently in confusion about which 5G standard it should go with - 5Gi developed by Telecommunications Standards Development Society, India (TSDSI) or the 3GPP developed 5G standard. The top international trade bodies have urged the Indian government to go ahead with 3GPP standards which will give a much-needed push to electronic manufacturing in India as companies will be encouraged to set up their operations in India.  “By using globally harmonized standards such as those from 3GPP, companies can set up manufacturing operations in India with the confidence that they can easily serve both the Indian market and export to global markets,” the bodies said in a joint submission letter to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Telecommunications Engineering Centre (TEC). 

An ambitious incentive scheme worth up to Rs 12,000 crore (€1.4 billion) is in the works to encourage companies to set up data centres in the country. The govt. is targeting an investment of Rs 3 lakh crore in the next five years as part of the hyperscale data centre scheme and is planning to provide between 3% and 4% of capital investment as incentive to companies, along with real estate support and faster clearances. Vision is to “make India a global data centre hub” and termed the scheme’s target as the largest so far in terms of expected investment in the country over a period of just five years.

India is nowhere close to launching 5G services but has already become the 4th largest market for smartphones supporting the next gen technology in terms of shipments, say market research firms. As per IDC, India trailed China, USA, and Japan in terms of 5G smartphone shipments at the lowest average selling price at $410. IDC expects India to reach around 40 million 5G smartphone shipments, which is around 24% of the total, by end of 2021, up from around 3.5 million in 2020. Research expects around 32 million 5G smartphones.

Telecom department's apex body the Digital Communications Commission (DCC) has cleared a provision of using satellite connectivity in telecom networks to provide services in remote areas where it is difficult to lay optical fibre network. Telecom Secretary said that the DCC (formerly the Telecom Commission) has also cleared the Request for Proposal for the rollout of BharatNet project for broadband services in villages in 16 states in public private partnership mode with viability gap funding of Rs 19,041 crore (€2.2 billon). "With a view of ease of doing business, the DCC has approved provision of cellular backhaul connectivity via satellite through VSAT for telecom services as per Trai recommendation. "This will help telecom companies in providing service in far flung areas where it is difficult to lay optical fibre," Prakash said.

• Annual Action Plan - TEC (2021-22) Read more>>

• Green Passport Lab - TEC sets up Green Passport Lab which is conceptualised as a test bed for testing of Telecom devices for Energy efficiency. Read more>>

• Inviting public comments on Adoption of TSDSI transposed OneM2M release-3 standard into national standards by TEC Read more>>

• Inviting comments on Adoption of TSDSI standard for Radio Interface Technology (5Gi) into national standards by TEC Read more>>

• Technology Approval certificate for CDoT's developed XGS-PON system Read more>>

• Energy Consumption Rating and Test Facility in TEC Read more>>

• Adoption of TSDSI transposed standards for 3GPP Release-15 into national standards by TEC – Inviting the public comments by 28th August 2021. Read more>>

• Release of Code of Practice for securing Consumer Internet of Things (IoT).

The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) has chalked out a 1,000-day agenda, aiming to make India a $1 trillion digital economy over the next few years. Key to the initiative will be making India the largest connected nation in the world, bringing coherence into digital governance, simplifying rules and legislations for technology and social media companies, and focusing on building India’s high-tech prowess.