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Having reportedly developed its own 5G technology, Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio has now reached out to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) asking for 5G spectrum
Jio’s ambitions of creating own 5G technology came earlier this year, when anonymous sources hinted at its development.
“We are more scalable than these vendors and are fully automated since we have our own cloud-native platform. In 5G, we will totally be self-sufficient,” one insider said to The Economic Times.
Such self-sufficiency is surely very appealing – especially in the wake of the increasingly politicised clash with China over 5G technology. However, since it was first hinted at, Jio’s 5G development seems to have been kept under lock and key, until on Saturday the veil was drawn back at Reliance Industries annual general meeting.
Now, two days later, it has become apparent that Jio is now applying for 5G spectrum from the DoT to begin trialling its new technology.
Jio is reportedly seeking 800 MHz in both the 26 GHz and 24 GHz bands, as well as 100 MHz in the 3.5 GHz bands.
Currently, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is planning to auction 5G spectrum at some point in 2021, though eye-watering high reserve prices have seen some of India’s major telcoms players, such as Bharti Airtel, suggesting they will not take part.
If Jio does gain access to to the spectrum and trials prove successful, the Indian company is looking to export their solutions, placing them in direct competition with vendor giants like Ericsson, Nokia, and Huawei. As a newcomer to this market, the extent to which their technology can compete is questionable, but Jio is nothing if not disruptive. As a massive company with a diversified range of interests, as well as a large list of backers, a competitively priced 5G solution which circumvents the ongoing geopolitical clash with Huawei could be quite attractive to global markets.
Ambani says Jio’s 5G could be ready for deployment as early as next year, spectrum permitting. When coupled with the half a billion mobile customers that Jio is aiming to connect over the next three years, Jio’s 5G could rapidly elevate India’s global market position in mobile technology.
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