GS Paper 3:
Topics Covered: Developments in Science and Technology.
Context:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently opened India’s first 5G testbed, which will allow start-ups and industrial companies to test their products locally, eliminating reliance on international facilities.
- He added during the occasion that India’s own 5G standard, 5Gi, was a source of great pride for the country and that it will play a significant role in delivering 5G technology to the country’s villages.
What is 5Gi?
- The 5G Radio Interface Technology, called 5Gi is a locally designed telecommunication network that has been designed by IIT Hyderabad, IIT Madras and the Centre of Excellence in Wireless Technology.
- The technology will be an alternative to the global 5G standards.
- 5Gi offers more range at a lower frequency, which is the opposite of 5G. The latter works between the 700 MHz to 52,000 MHz bands and sacrifices on range.
Benefits of 5Gi:
- Using the 5Gi standard will allow telcos in the country to widen the 5G connectivity to villages.
- Cost-effective.
- 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.
Challenges of 5Gi:
- 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.
- Moving from 5G to 5Gi will be cost-intensive and most likely make the local bands incompatible with the global network right now. Because 5Gi cannot work with the global 5G standard that is based on the 3GPP technology.
Insta Curious:
Is India prepared for roll-out of 5G? Read here.
InstaLinks:
Prelims Link:
- What is 5G?
- Differences between 3G, 4G and 5G.
- Applications.
- What is a spectrum?
Mains Link:
Discuss the significance of 5G technology.
Sources: the Hindu.
