Reliance Jio, India’s largest telecom operator run by Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, has started 5G testing in Mumbai city, using Indian-made equipment, a media report said on Tuesday, citing sources.
“The network went live quickly after receiving a trial spectrum from the DoT. We are using both – mid-bands and mm-wave bands with standalone architecture for 5G trials in Mumbai,” the Economic Times quoted a Jio executive as saying.
According to reports, all of Jio’s 5G testing equipment for Mumbai was made in India with the help of local partners.
In December 2020, the 64-year-old Jio boss, Ambani, announced that his telecom brand will be the first to introduce 5G services in India.
Reiterating Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of making India “self-reliant", the industrialist also noted that Jio’s 5G hardware and technology will not be imported but would instead be “Made in India”.
When the multi-billionaire made his statement, it came against the backdrop of the Indo-China tensions at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) that began in the spring of 2020 and lasted for months before easing because of several rounds of negotiations at different levels.
Hence, just as Jio is making sourcing local equipment for 5G development a priority, other Indian telecom firms, such as Bharti Airtel, is working with foreign tech players like Finnish firm Nokia to develop 5G systems in India.
In January this year, India and Japan signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) agreeing to work together in cooperation on the development of advanced tech sectors such as 5G.
