Govt Should Give Support And Subsidies For 5G Trials In India: COAI

The Cellular Operators' Association of India this week wrote to the Telecom Department saying that dedicated support and subsidies should be provided to help all the important 5G trials in India. The letter penned by COAI also said that the permissions and fee on network equipment purchases should be waived for the trial period. "The Telecom Department must give instructions for allocation of spectrum for trials to telecom service providers and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) partners free of cost for the duration of the trial," the COAI added. "DoT should support and facilitate stakeholders regarding the availability of site locations for 5G trials. DoT must provide financial support to all concerned stakeholders related to deployment - backhauls, site acquisition, civil works and trials manpower and related operational expenses...," COAI said according to a news wire. "For example, DoT (Department of Telecom) must issue instructions for allocation of spectrum for trials to the telecom service providers and OEM partners free of cost for the duration of the trial," it said. The COAI wrote on their official portal, "Adoption of 5G will require substantial investment in more downstream innovation than previous generations of communications systems. New business ecosystems are expected to emerge in which a multiplicity of players will meet, compete and work together. This will open opportunities to start-ups and smaller ecosystem players, which will eventually profit from the innovation capabilities offered by networks providing open interfaces to develop network 'apps' and services."