India and Japan on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to work together to develop advanced tech sectors like 5G, telecom security, submarine optical fibre cable, and smart cities, among others.
Ravi Shankar Prasad, India’s federal minister of Information Technology (IT) and Takeda Ryota, Japanese Minister for Internal Affairs signed the agreement via video link.
The countries will also be collaborating on spectrum management, high altitude platforms for broadband in unconnected areas, disaster management, and public safety.
Speaking at the virtual event, Prasad said that the mega project of connecting India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands with submarine optical fibre cable is “a great example of cooperation between India and Japan.”
India’s 5G trials initially scheduled for January 2020 were delayed by a year after the coronavirus pandemic hit. The country is currently fuelled by 4G networks.
Indian telecom giants like Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone-Idea are working on developing 5G-supporting tech ecosystems in India, without any help from Chinese players like Huawei and ZTE.