5G Rollout Will Not Be the End of 4G LTE in India: Qualcomm

Mobile chipmaker Qualcomm has said it is engaging actively with the telecom ministry and sectoral regulator in India on the potential offered by the next-generation 5G services that are being deployed across countries like the US, Korea and China. Speaking on the sidelines of the Snapdragon Tech Summit, Qualcomm Technologies Senior Vice President, Engineering, Durga Malladi said: “Qualcomm has been quite active in terms of engaging with both telecom ministry and the regulator (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) in educating folks on the 5G front”. He also emphasised that 5G rollout will not be the end of 4G LTE services. “…when you get to 5G, you definitely aren’t letting go of 4G. It’s not rip-and-replace in 5G,” he explained.

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Malladi, however, declined to comment on expected timeline of the 5G rollout in India, stating that spectrum auction is yet to be held in the country, following which airwaves for offering 5G services will be available.

While the Indian government is yet to announce a specific timeline, the industry wants spectrum auction to be held in the latter part of 2019. The government is also upbeat on 5G deployment in the country with Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha recently saying that India “cannot afford to miss the 5G bus”. Apart from higher Internet speeds, the advent of the fifth generation of the wireless system or 5G will also enable massive Internet of Things (IoT) deployment that would significantly impact sectors like manufacturing, retail, education and healthcare, among others.