5G to act as catalyst by enabling intelligent connectivity

Day 2 of the 5G Huddle Conference was held in New Delhi.

In the opening session, TR Dua, Chairman ITU-APT Foundation of India and DG TAIPA, said: “As the journey of 5G continues, this year's Huddle looks at monitoring the progress, and also looks at the challenges faced by the stakeholders, and so on. India's data consumption at 10GB is among the highest in the world. 5G is different than 4G. It promises data at speeds of 100 times more. As per Ericsson, there were 13 million 5G subscribers by the end of December 2019. The NDCP 2018 has set ambitious goals.

“Some of the popular 5G use cases are worth looking at. TSPs are already providing 5G services in select cities. The use cases are likely to emerge in Industry 4.0, that is agriculture, smart cities, etc. Event organizers can offer VR, etc., in the future. 5G also promises low latency. Telecom operators can provide customized cases with network slicing. 5G technologies enables NFV, enabling multiple virtual networks.

The recently concluded WRC-19 identified additional spectrum for 5G. Some of the other key releases are the allocation of spectrum for microwave access, etc. The achievements of WRC-19 have been welcomed by satellite and mobile industries. 5G enablement would need specific infrastructure. Fiberization also needs to be done, and move up to 60%, from 20-25% recently.

Sameer Sharma, Regional Director, ITU Regional Office, Asia Pacific, said, digital transformation is the key to achieving the SDGs. ICT will play a catalytical role. We are sitting on the cusp of transformation. How do we define 5G? It was initially called as IMT. There is IMT-2000, IMT-Advanced and IMT-2020. 5G has an approximate deployment time of the 2020s. At the WRC-19, there were three identifiers -- eMBB, mMTC, and URLLC. These are key for establishing a smart society.

WRC-19 identified frequency bands for 5G, such as 66-71GHz, 47.2-48.2GHz, 45.5-47GHz and so on. The future spectrum needs are 24.25-88GHz and the others. 5G will act as a catalyst by enabling intelligent connectivity. 5G will also bring us closer to achieving the SDG by 2030. The ITU recommends the M.2083. This relates to the level of unwanted emissions of mobile-satellite service feeder links operating in the bands 1,390-1,392 MHz (earth-to-space) and 1,430-1,432 MHz (space-to-earth).

5G can directly increase GDP, faster and informed decision making, boosts labor productivity, etc. There are many use cases that can be demonstrated. However, 5G backers are also skeptical about their commercial deployments. There will be some challenges in small cell deployment.

The scope of IMT-2020 is more than previous generations of mobile broadband communication systems. IMT-2020 will be a key catalyst for achieving the sustainable development goal.

Telecom infrastructure
Later, TR Dua spoke on the telecom infrastructure. There is a need to ensure the availability of the critical telecom infrastructure. There are some regulatory challenges regarding the enablement of 5G. There are benefits of passive sharing. With time, it was realized that sharing is an important factor. It reduces the entry barriers, capex, opex, cost and energy efficiencies, etc. The tower and BTS have also grown from Dec. 2016 to Dec. 2019. Rapid expansion on the connectivity infrastructure has now catalyzed digital adoption.

Some of the government initiatives include, the Indian Telegraph Right of Way rules 2016, NDCP 2018, etc. 5G trials were initiated by the Government in January 2020. A robust telecom infrastructure is the bedrock for achieving the vision. The National Broadband Mission was launched in December 2019.

There are challenges with small cell deployment. 5G network can enable new apps to connected cars/devices if the 5G coverage is ubiquitous. There is a fibre backhaul challenge. There should be some policy. In active infrastructure, this needs to be implemented. Network sharing can also reduce costs by up to 40%. Fiberization is critical to implement 5G. There is need to overcome challenges, such as common duct policy, etc.

Subodh Kumar Gupta, Member Technology, Digital Communications Commission, India, added that this year's focus is on 5G. The pace at which the people are taking mobile technology is very fast. There are new, emerging trends. 5G is the next generation of mobile broadband. 5G will enable a seamlessly connected society in the future.

Digital connectivity is a key factor to enable holistic growth. Universal access to broadband should be affordable. Growth of data usage has further increased. The number of broadband connections have to be nearly doubled.

The NDCP 2018 recognized digital communications policy as the key and provisioned broadband for all. Here, 5G will play an important role. The government is investing over $30 million in a 5G test bed featuring domestic companies.

Bharat Bhatia, President, ITU-APT Foundation of India noted that the ITU-APT had signed an MoU with WWRF in the last Huddle. Now, WWRF and TSDSI will sign an MoU. Nigel Jefferies said that WWRF will work with TSDSI on various issues. Pamela Kumar added that we need to take this beyond discussions. Every year, we revisit the annual plan.