5Gi India’s Own 5G Standards developed by TSDSI

 

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is the United Nations specialised body for information and communication technologies or ICTs.

Telecommunications Standards Development Society India(TSDSI), is the Indian equivalent of 3GPP in Europe, the organization that develops global telecom standards

Thaere are 3 5G technoligies approved by ITU 

The radio interfaces that will be used in full-scale commercial deployment of fifth generation mobile communication networks have achieved global validation with the successful evaluation by ITU of three new technologies that conform with the International Mobile Telecommunications 2020 (IMT-2020) vision and stringent performance requirement,

The technologies are -- 3GPP 5G-SRIT and 3GPP 5G-RIT submitted by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), and 5Gi submitted by Telecommunications Standards Development Society India (TSDSI)"

5Gi –India’s Own 5G Standards

The International Telecommunications Union accepted 5Gi as a 5G standard on 23rd November-20

5Gi is based on the 3GPP 5G NR RIT with additional functionality to support “Low Mobility Large Cell” (LMLC).The 5Gi incorporates India specific technology enhancements that can enable longer coverage for meeting the LMLC requirements. The 5Gi, which is mainly to address the LMLC requirements, exploits a new transmit waveform that increases cell range developed by research institutions in India (IIT Hyderabad, CEWiT and IIT Madras) and expected to be supported by several Indian companies. It enables low cost rural coverage. It has additional features which enable higher spectrum efficiency and improved latency.

Benefits of 5Gi

So, can the homegrown 5G standard work better than its global counterpart? Experts say that using the 5Gi standard will allow telcos in the country to widen the 5G connectivity net to villages. It is also said to be cost-effective as a technology, which can be beneficial if implemented at a large scale by the operators in the country. The rural network has always lagged behind the urban setup, but 5Gi can make sure there is no lag between the advancement of 5Gi in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and rural parts of the country. Not only does 5Gi promise fast internet connectivity but also helps in improving mobile coverage.

Challenges of 5Gi

The news about 5Gi will definitely have come as a shock to telecom operators in the country. After all, they have spent millions on upgrading their network to offer 5G connectivity. And now, out of the blue, the country is considering switching to 5Gi, a local standard. So, eventually, if India decides to go with 5Gi as its default network standard, this could become problematic for telcos. Their existing setup will have to be re-engineered to support the 5Gi standard. And that will cost them a lot of money once again.

But that's not all. Telecom body in the country claims that 5Gi cannot work with the global 5G standard that is based on the 3GPP technology. The Cellular Operations Authority of India believes that moving from 5G to 5Gi will be cost-intensive and most likely make the local bands incompatible with the global network right now. So, all signs suggest moving to 5Gi might not be a good idea.   

Will India get 5Gi or 5G?

As of now, COAI and other telecom representatives have been directed by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to study the effect and shortcomings of using the 5Gi standard. The telecom authority also wants COAI to check with the possible use of 5Gi by telcos and handset makers. Whether they find it feasible to make the move.

So, before the country undertakes a 5G auction, it is imperative that the government finalises the move, either in favour or against the use of 5Gi