DoT to ask telcos to test 5G in rural areas also

New Delhi: The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is likely to ask telecom operators to conduct trials of 5G technology in rural areas also, along with urban centres for which they have been given permission, an official source said. Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea have been given trial spectrum for six month to test 5G in the country.

State-owned telecom firm MTNL will also be given trial spectrum once it submits fees of Rs 5,000 required for the permission, the source said. "The DoT will ask telecom operators to include a rural area for testing 5G applications along with their urban centres. "MTNL has teamed up with C-DoT for conducting 5G trials in Delhi. They will conduct a 5G test near Najafgarh as well. They will be given a trial spectrum once they deposit the fees," the official said.

Telecom operators have been allocated spectrum in 700 Mhz band, 3.3-3.6 gigahertz (Ghz) band and 24.25-28.5 Ghz band across various locations.

DoT has approved trials of 5G with Ericsson, Nokia, Samsung and C-DOT, and has not approved any trial with Chinese vendors. "Reliance Jio will conduct trials using its own technology as well as Samsung network gears," a source said.