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Top industry stakeholders lock horns as India prepares for 5G
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IANS | 22 Jun, 2022
As India prepares for long-delayed 5G spectrum next month, top industry
stakeholders have locked horns over the issue of public and private 5G
networks and whether the government should allow spectrum directly to
the enterprises for operating private captive 5G networks.
The
debate sparked further after Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month
said 5G technology will contribute $450 billion to the Indian economy,
dedicating an indigenous 5G Test Bed to the nation during an event by
the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
The debate has
now reached its nadir with the Union Cabinet approving the telecom
department's proposal to conduct an auction through which spectrum will
be assigned to the successful bidders for providing 5G services to
public and enterprises next month-end.
While the Cellular
Operators Association of India (COAI), the industry's apex body
representing telcos, is of the firm opinion that there is no
justification whatsoever for allocating spectrum to industry verticals
for operating private captive networks, the Broadband India Forum (BIF)
says that captive private 5G networks would be crucial for the
enterprises to augment efficiencies, enhance productivity and march
towards Industry 4.0.
"There is no need to alienate spectrum
directly to companies for captive private networks,a says the COAI in
its position paper, adding that the requirement of industry verticals
can be best met through telecom operator-led private networks.
"A
private network operated within the commercial network also fulfils the
requirement of "law enforcement agencies" as necessary lawful
interception and monitoring is provided by the service provider while no
such facility is available to lease in private captive networks,"
argues the COAI, adding that the anti-social elements may exploit this
facility to bypass interception and monitoring of messages which would
be detrimental to national security.
Private 5G captive networks
are about the deployment of high speed, enhanced data capacity, and
ultra-low latency applications inside a closed manufacturing unit,
hospital, airport, shipping port, among others.
Such networks are
single end-users (the enterprise itself) in the given location, unlike a
vast number of users in public networks.
According to the BIF,
meant for non-public use, Private captive 5G networks are not about
public data and voice networks working inside private/captive campuses,
as is being alluded to and misunderstood in certain quarters.
"India
needs higher efficiencies in verticals like manufacturing, healthcare,
education, agriculture, financial inclusion and many others to
accelerate the process of digital transformation. This can best be
achieved only through the use of Private Captive 5G Networks," said the
BIG in its position paper.
A public telecom network set up by a
telecom licensee would necessarily have to be one which optimises the
various needs of the masses.
"It would not be in a position to
meet specific enterprise higher and specific SLAs (service-level
agreements) that are characteristic of specific industry verticals. For
example, the needs and requirements would be quite different for a
Maruti-Suzuki automotive factory from that of an Apollo Hospital or of
an IIT Delhi campus, and so on," argues the industry body.
The
BIF has also termed demands to ensure a level-playing field between
public and private 5G networks as "absurd and impractical."
"Seeking
a level-playing field with enterprises for captive private networks is
akin to a child in kindergarten being asked to compete with someone who
has a doctoral degree. No mature regulator anywhere in the world imposes
regulation on a player with no or minimal market share," according to
TV Ramachandran, ABIF President.
Nowhere in over 55 countries
where private 5G networks are deployed have similar regulations been
issued, said the think tank, as the two networks are on completely
different footings and are not competing with each other.
A
recent GSMA report on 'Mobile Networks for Industry Verticals: Spectrum
Best Practice' stated that great care needs to be taken to ensure
verticals are fully supported without harming other wireless users --
especially consumers and businesses who rely on 4G and 5G.
"Verticals
can benefit from telco's more extensive networks, more substantial
spectrum assets, expertise and, typically, operators' lower cost base.
Use of dedicated set-asides for verticals poses significant risks to
wider mobile services, most notably slower 5G networks and reduced
coverage," the report mentioned.
The COAI said that there is no
need for separate private captive 5G networks and the same should be
dispensed with given the availability of state-of-art telecommunication
networks.
On the other hand, the BIF argues that there would be
no revenue loss to the government on account of direct spectrum
allocation for private 5G networks to enterprises, as they shall
purchase the spectrum at a price to be fixed by the government and
allocated administratively.
According to Neil Shah, Vice
President of Research, Counterpoint Research, opening of spectrum beyond
telcos "is a bold and welcome step to empower tech companies,
enterprises and ecosystem players to build Private 5G networks".
"Factories,
university campuses, cities, transportation, ports can now build their
secure, closed private networks, cloud infrastructure and services and
accelerate their digital transformation journeys," Shah told IANS.
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