Weekly News - Indian operators submit applications for initial 5G field trials

1. Indian operators submit applications for initial 5G field trials

2. Rogers begins 5G rollout in Canada

3. Taiwan Calls Temporary Halt on $4.6B Auction

4. Vietnam's largest mobile carrier to launch commercial 5G services in June

5. O2 makes O-RAN move

Indian operators submit applications for initial 5G field trials

Indian carriers Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio and BSNL have submitted their applications for 5G field trials with the Department of Telecom (DoT), The Economic Times reported.

According to the report, Vodafone Idea and Airtel have submitted their applications with Ericsson, Nokia, Huawei and ZTE, while Reliance Jio has submitted an application for a 5G field trial with Samsung Electronics.

State-run telco BSNL announced it planned to carry out a 5G trial with ZTE. The last date to submit applications for trials was yesterday.

“Telcos have asked for spectrum in mid-band, millimeter-wave band and anchor 4G band to conduct 5G field trials,” a person familiar with the matter reportedly said, adding that the telecom department intends to start 5G trials next month.

“Huawei will work with Vodafone Idea and Airtel in Delhi and Bangalore, respectively for 5G trials. Samsung and Jio will do the trial in Mumbai. Nokia and Ericsson will have similar arrangements with both Vodafone Idea and Airtel for trials,” the source added.

According to previous reports, India expects to award spectrum for the provision of 5G in March or April this year. The auction will include the sale of almost 8300 megahertz of airwaves, including 5G spectrum in the 3.3-3.6 GHz band and 4G spectrum in the 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz and 2500 MHz bands.

Rogers begins 5G rollout in Canada

A bit late to the party, Rogers announced it is starting to roll out Canada’s first 5G network. The company will begin its 5G deployment in downtown Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal with plans to expand to over 20 more markets by the end of the year. Rogers also plans to turn on 5G in the Rogers Centre, Scotiabank Arena and Rogers Arena.

Its 5G network will initially use 2.5 GHz spectrum, and will expand to use 600 MHz 5G spectrum and 3.5 GHz spectrum later this year.

Rogers chose Ericsson as the vendor for its 5G deployment. The company says it’s been working with Ericsson since it launched wireless services in 1985. In the future, Rogers will also start using Ericsson’s dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS).

“5G is not just another G. It is a global technology that requires local development to deliver the best social and economic benefits to Canadians,” said Rogers CTO Jorge Fernandes, in a statement. “Through our multi-year program we will invest in our wireless network and partner with leaders to drive innovative use cases for Canadian consumers and businesses.”

Taiwan Calls Temporary Halt on $4.6B Auction

Taiwan’s 5G auction has completed its first round in near-record territory, with the five operators committing NT$138 billion ($4.6 billion) for more than three times the government reserve price.

Just over NT$137 billion went to the 3.5GHz band, putting the medium-sized Asian economy third behind Italy and Germany in aggregate spending and second in terms of spending per megahertz. Bids for the 28GHz frequencies raised about NT$1 billion.

But the auction isn’t over. The regulator, NCC, called a halt Thursday morning after the smallest player, Hon Hai-backed Asia-Pacific Telecom, withdrew from 3.5GHz bidding.

The process will resume on February 21, when the operators are expected to negotiate with each other for specific frequencies within the spectrum bands. The NCC said it would step in only if they are unable to reach agreement.

The biggest winners were Chunghwa Telecom, the number-two operator, which bid NT$45.7 billion for 90MHz of 3.5GHz spectrum, FarEasTone, which committed $40.6 billion for 80MHz, and Taiwan Mobile, which will pay NT$30.45 billion for 60MHz.

Table 1: Current Bids in Taiwan’s 5G Auction

	Chungwha Telecom	FarEasTone	Taiwan Mobile	Taiwan Star	Asia-Pacific Telecom
3.5GHz	90MHz; NT$45.67B	80MHz; NT$40.6B	60MHz; NT$30.45B	40MHz; NT$19.71M	N/A
28GHz	600MHz; NT$618M	400MHz; NT$412M	200MHz; NT$206M	N/A	400MHz; NT$412M
Source: NCC Units.

Vietnam's largest mobile carrier to launch commercial 5G services in June

HANOI: Vietnam’s largest telecommunication company, Viettel, will launch commercial 5G mobile services from June this year, the company said on Friday.

The military-run company said in a statement it would use 5G network equipment and software developed itself, adding that it has become the sixth firm the world to produce 5G network equipment after Ericsson, Nokia, Huawei , Samsung Electronics and ZTE.

The statement came after Viettel conducted its first trial video call on its 5G network the same day. Viettel said it would develop both civilian and military services based on its 5G platform.

O2 makes O-RAN move

Telefonica’s O2 UK struck partnerships with a number of companies to help it deploy O-RAN technology, a move designed to improve network coverage across the country.

In a statement, O2 said it was opening up its RAN to non-traditional partners Mavenir, Dense Air, Wavemobile and Real Wireless to exploit the possibilities of O-RAN, as it expects commercial deployments of the technology to pick up pace over the next 18 months to 24 months.

Telefonica is a big advocate of O-RAN and was one of the first members of the O-RAN Alliance, an industry consortium formed to foster open network architecture and standardised interfaces. Fellow European operator Vodafone Group is also heavily pushing O-RAN, with plans to hold a tender regarding deployment across its entire European footprint.

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