5Gi Said to Become Integral to 5G Standards for India, Other Countries

A 5G technology standard developed in India has become part of global standards which will be adopted by companies locally as well as across the world, a senior official of Indian telecom standards body TSDSI said on Friday.

5Gi is the first ever telecom technology standard from India that will find place in global telecom gear standards for 5G services.

Global standards development body 3GPP has agreed to a plan of action that will allow the merger of 5Gi into 5G.

“The move is a big step in enabling India’s objective of enhanced coverage across rural, remote, and urban areas. The merger of the 5Gi requirements into 3GPP 5G standards, enables a single common specification going forward, as well as creating a single radio access solution for 5G deployments in India and globally,” TSDSI Chairman N G Subramaniam said.

The Telecommunications Standards Development Society, India (TSDSI) aims to develop and promote India-specific requirements, standardise solutions for meeting these requirements and contribute these to international standards in the field of telecommunications.

Global telecom gear makers had opposed TSDSI developing the 5Gi standard for India, as it will be separate from global standards and enhance cost of rolling out 5G services in the country.

5Gi technology standards focus on rural (extended) coverage to meet the domestic requirements.

“Auguring well for an enhanced collaboration among the organizational partners of 3GPP, there was a strong collaborative spirit among the global stakeholders to work together in next generation technologies leading to an enhanced rural coverage as 5Gi’s coverage-enhancing transmission mode becomes part of 5G NR specifications,” Subramaniam said.

The standards lead to room for development of intellectual property in the country. Most of the patents in the 5G space have been filed by Chinese and European companies.