5Gi in India: How is It Different from 5G?
The 5G auction in India concluded with the bidding of ₹1.5 lakh crores. Jio stands top with ₹88,000 crores, followed by Airtel and Vi at ₹43,000 crores and ₹18,799 crores, respectively. Adani Data Network has also bought a share. Now that the auction has concluded, 5G could arrive soon. 5G development in India will revolutionise how we use the internet. On that note, the TSDSI (Telecommunications Standards Development Society, India) has developed an indigenous 5Gi standard, which has been in the talks lately. Let us know everything about the 5Gi standard in this article.
What is 5Gi Standard?
5Gi is a local 5G standard developed by India, also known as Radio Interface Technology or RIT, which aims at providing uninterrupted 5G services to remote and rural areas of the country. In other words, the 5Gi standard aims to improve 5G services in rural areas of the country.
This is different from the usual 5G standard developed by 3GPP. 3GPP is a global body that provides standards and specifications for 5G development across the globe. The Indian 5Gi standard has received approval from ITU for merging its specifications with the 5G standard under a compromised formula. This is very unusual yet a good thing for India. Now you might wonder about the difference between the 5Gi standard and 5G. Let’s talk about that in detail.
- Launch Date: When will 5G services launch in India?
- 5G Bands: Will your 5G smartphone perform in India? You can check the supported 5G Bands here.
- 5G SIM: Do you Need a new SIM for 5G?
- Jio 5G: The 5G services may announce on August 29.
- Jio Phone 5G: The smartphone could be priced at below INR 10000.
5Gi vs 5G: What’s the Difference?
The most crucial difference between the 5G and 5Gi is that the 5Gi standard uses Low Mobility Large Cell (LMLC) technology to extend its range by adopting lower frequency bands. The Indian 5Gi standard can go lower than the lowest 5G frequency band and as high as 36 GHz without compromising the range. The global 5G standard uses frequencies ranging from 700 MHz to 52GHz.
The LMLC technology also increases the intersite distance from global 5G’s from 1.7km to 6km. A wider intersite distance translates to a lower deployment cost. Plus, the 5Gi standard also reduces the mobility speed to 3km/h – 30km/h for good. For instance, the mobility speed of the global 5G lies between 120km/h and 500km/h. A lower mobility speed allows Indians to get satisfactory network usage.
5Gi Standard: Pros and Cons
As with everything, the 5Gi standard has its pros and cons. Let us talk about the pros first.
Pros:
- 5Gi standard has been developed to provide better connectivity in rural areas and remote locations of India. The LMLC technology lets telecom operators bring super fast 5G technology to India’s rural and remote regions without having to install several base stations.
- As per TSDSI, this would save a lot of money which would otherwise be spent on base stations, thus making it more cost-effective. However, some telecom operators have argued against this and said they are not ready to implement this new standard.
Cons:
- The first problem with 5Gi is that Indian telecom operators are unwilling to implement the technology. They argue that maintaining interoperability between 5G and 5Gi standards will only worsen things. In their defence, they further say that maintaining interoperability between the two standards will require hardware changes, not just software. The COAI (Cellular Operators Association of India) has asked the government to make 5Gi a discretionary standard, not a mandatory one.
- The second problem with 5Gi could be band incompatibility issues. The new indigenous 5Gi standard’s frequency bands might not even be compatible with current 5G phones.
Bottom Line
5Gi standard is an excellent initiative from the Indian government. An alternative standard is necessary for India as the global 5G standard isn’t designed with India’s vast geographical terrains in mind. The government wants the telecom operators to adopt the new standard and the global one. However, we do not know when and which telecom operators will adopt the 5Gi standard. That’s all about the 5Gi standard; let us know if you have any questions.
