Reliance Jio, the popular telecom operator in India has described its 5G next-generation technology plans at the Qualcomm 5G Summit. The President of the company disclosed this news at the event. As per the reports, Qualcomm will be supporting Reliance Jio is rolling out the 5G plans. Reliance Jio has been offering 4G network services in India since 2016. Since then, the company has been offering the best voice and data services over the same LTE connection.
After serving the best 4G services for more than 4 years, the telco has now moved into the much-anticipated 5G network. It is likely to launch a value-for-money 5G smartphone that might implement Mukesh Ambani’s aim of 2G-mukt Bharat [2G free India]. Reliance Jio is one of the topmost telecom firms in India that has been rendering free trials and other services at affordable costs. In recent times, the company has become the first telecom operator to surpass 40 crore subscribers.
Through Facebook and Google, the company has grabbed massive attention from the users and acquired huge amounts of fundings as well. Once it rolls out the 5G network in the country, the company could witness a fresh round of development. Reliance Jio Infocomm President Matthew Oomen at the keynote of Qualcomm’s 5G summit said that the telco has developed a completely domestic 5G Radio Access Network [RAN] product. Qualcomm also stated that Snapdragon will be compatible with OpenRAN 5G alongside Jio and other telecom operators.
Oommen said, ‘Our long-standing collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies will accelerate the development of a full suite of 5G products and solutions, as Jio continues to support and drive open technologies in RAN.’ He further added, ‘From Silicon to software all the functions of a Software-defined RAN will get tested at Jio Scale. These standards-based open RAN technologies along with the new Qualcomm 5G RAN Platforms will help to bridge the gigabit digital gap to deliver the Inclusive Digital Platform that is so much a necessity today for lives and livelihood in India and beyond.’
Durga Malladi, the Senior Vice President and General Manager, 4G/5G, Qualcomm Technologies said, ‘Qualcomm Technologies aims to deliver cutting-edge technology for virtualized, flexible and interoperable 5G infrastructure across the globe. We recently achieved over a 1 Gbps milestone on the Reliance Jio 5G NR product, leveraging our Qualcomm 5G RAN Platforms, and we look forward to expanding our efforts with Reliance Jio to enable flexible and scalable 5G RAN deployments.’
The company also stated that the portfolio of Qualcomm 5G RAN platforms has been designed to render a foundation for adaptable, potential, expandable, and interoperable cellular network infrastructure. The platforms provide extendable support for an extensive range of infrastructure categories ranging from macro base stations with huge MIMO to small cells. The feature compatibility for all key frequency bands on sub-6 GHz and mmWave spectrum.
In July 2020, at the RIL AGM, the company made several announcements such as a partnership with Google to develop an Android-based OS affordable 4G and 5G smartphones, a mixed reality headset with holographic video calling, and more. The outcome of this partnership is expected to be a smartphone available at Rs. 5000 or $68. Currently, we are not aware when the 5G smartphone will roll out in the country. However, as per certain predictions from analysts, we can anticipate it in December 2020.
The notable point is that Google has been already in works with the Android One programme. This programme aims at promoting phones with close to stock Android designed to function on entry-level handsets. The proficients had highlighted that the Reliance-Google partnership could be a massive challenge for Chinese handset manufacturers in the nation.
The $4.5 billion [Rs. 33737 crores in India] deal under which Alphabet’s Google will unite with India’s Reliance Industries appears to be a key challenge to Chinese sellers such as Xiaomi, Realme owner, Vivo, BBK Electronics, Oppo, and other brands. These vendors currently control a $2 billion [approximately Rs. 14955 crores] market for sub-$100 [approximately Rs. 7400] smartphones in the country.
On 15th July 2020, at the AGM 2020, Mukesh Ambani said, ‘Today, friends, I have great pride in announcing that Jio has designed and developed a complete 5G solution from scratch. This will enable us to launch a world-class 5G service in India using 100 percent home-grown technologies and solutions. This Made-in-India 5G solution will be ready for trials as soon as the 5G spectrum is available.’
Still, 5G networks haven’t been rolled out in the nation. However, the Government has to assign a spectrum for conducting 5G trials in the country. Before the official launch of the 5G network, it is necessary to carry out the trials. As per the latest reports, some sources from the Home Ministry suggested that the 5G trials may not be implemented this year as it could become an impediment to the plans of Reliance Jio. Stay tuned to Telecom Wire to get the latest tech updates, telecom news, 5G trials, and more.