NEW DELHI: Reliance Jio , the Mukesh Ambani-led telco has also switched on its 5G field trial network using its own indigenously developed 5G equipment and technology in Mumbai. It is engaging with other vendors like Samsung , Ericsson and Nokia to start 5G trials in other cities in coming days, sources familiar with the matter told ET.“The network went live quickly after receiving a trial spectrum from the DoT . We are using both mid and mmwave bands with standalone architecture for 5G trials in Mumbai,” a senior executive said on the condition of anonymity.The person said that the 5G equipment was manufactured in India with the help of local partners.“As opposed to rivals, our 5G trial is much bigger in terms of sites deployed in Mumbai. We will soon kick off trials in other cities and areas,” the person added.Jio had applied for trials in Delhi, Mumbai, Gujarat and Hyderabad.A query sent to Jio didn’t elicit a response.The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had recently allocated 5G trial spectrum in the 700 MHz, 3.5 GHz and 26 GHz bands to Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea (Vi) to develop India-relevant use cases on the next-gen fast wireless broadband technology.Jio’s rival Bharti Airtel also switched on its 5G trial network in Gurgaon’s Cyber Hub in the Millennium city in partnership with Swedish gear maker Ericsson. Airtel’s site is operating in the 3500 MHz band and is delivering throughput of over 1 Gbps.Airtel has been allotted 5G trial spectrum in Delhi/NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru.Allotment of 5G trial spectrum is particularly crucial for Jio and Airtel, who already have 5G-ready networks and have recently bulked up on crucial airwaves in the recent auction to cater to the surge in data usage amid Covid and also future-proof themselves ahead of 5G rollouts.Jio has already developed an end-to-end 5G stack, including 5G radio and core network solutions .

Source: Economic Times June 15, 2021 09:51 UTC