India to Share 5G Test Bed with Neighbours

India has decided that it would give access to the 5G test bed to neighbouring nations such as Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives, Sri Lanka, and other friendly nations. With access to the 5G test bed, governments and start-ups in these neighbouring nations would be able to validate new technologies as well as develop tech that is suited to their country and needs. According to a Business Standard report, officials aware of the matter said that the highly discounted testing services would be opened to all the allied nations.

The proposal to do this has come from the telecom minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. The matter will go under further discussion, and then the eligible neighbouring nations would be asked to apply for getting access to the 5G test bed, the report added. India developed an indigenous 5G test bed, and it was an important milestone in the journey towards becoming a self-reliant nation. Other nations would be able to improve on their 5G technology and expand their 5G roll-out plans if they get access to the 5G test bed in India.

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Using the 5G test bed, many use cases have been demonstrated powered by the 5G networks. Use cases such as rural broadband, smart city applications, and more have been tested on the 5G test bed. Moreover, the test bed has allowed Indian telecom operators to deepen their understanding of the 5G networks and plan their future networks.

The 5G test bed is currently available in five locations in Hyderabad, Kanpur, Delhi, Chennai, and Bangalore. All the test beds in these cities have been ensured to be compliant with the 3GPP standard. To recall, the move to set up indigenous 5G test beds in India was approved by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) back in 2018.