Jio Backs Homegrown 5G Standards, Airtel Says It Will Increase Costs

Much recently, the Indian government had announced that the telcos could start their 5G trials using the airwaves in the 700 MHz spectrum band. Now, the two leading operators of the country, namely Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, are at opposite ends when it comes to the 5G standards that India should adopt.

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According to a Business Standard report, Airtel believes that the homegrown 5G standards known as ‘5Gi’ will be very costly and push India out of the global ecosystem. At the same time, Reliance Jio is happy with the indigenous standards as long as they keep the network costs in check and promise quality.

Bharti Airtel Wants 5G Standards Developed By 3GPP

Bharti Airtel said that it would like India to adopt the 5G standards developed by the 3GPP. This would ensure that Indian 5G networks can push for innovation in the widely embraced ecosystem and would allow the operators to get lower prices on the equipment because of standardisation.

Reliance Jio also said that it would support 5Gi standards when it is economically feasible for the operators.

Because of the confusion related to the 5G standards, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has asked the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) to come up with a list of pros and cons of the 5Gi standard so that a proper assessment of the technology is possible.

The COAI will further need to assess whether all the operators want the 5Gi standards and also determine what the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) think about it.