5G is the next generation connectivity medium through which businesses will look to scale their operations online and also leverage the new use cases it enables to their advantage. Now, to prepare for a future with 5G, the government of India has decided to offer the 5G testbed to recognised start-ups and MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) for free. To all the other stakeholders of the industry, the 5G test bed will be available at a nominal cost. The 5G test bed will be offered for free by the government for the next six months up to January 2023.
The 5G test bed facilities are available in five cities of the nation. IIT Madras, IIT Delhi, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Kanpur, and IISc Bangalore are the places where MSMEs and start-ups can get access to the 5G test bed. The Indian government wants the local players and companies to leverage the 5G test bed facilities to ensure that they are ready to utilise 5G as and when it is available. It is important for India to move fast towards 5G so that there can be huge advancements toward new-age technologies.
For the unaware, the 5G test beds are compliant with the 3GPP standard and the ORAN standard. This is a good move from the government to ensure that MSMEs and the start-up ecosystem of India can move towards the future without many hurdles. The test beds allow the businesses to validate their 5G products.
There is also a website which has been designed specifically for the access and usage of the 5G test bed. India wants to be a self-reliant nation, and these 5G test beds are going to massively contribute to that vision of the government. Note that the 5G test bed will only be offered for free to the start-ups and the MSMEs, which are recognised by the Indian government.
