As we move closer towards the rollout of 5G services, in a crucial development, during the RAN plenary meeting of global standards development body 3GPP held last week, stakeholders across the globe have agreed to take actions to merge 5Gi into 5G. For those unaware, 5Gi is the local connectivity standard designed to cater to the demands of the rural network coverage requirement in India. 5Gi is under discussion with the industry ecosystem in India consultative process of Telecom Engineering Centre (TEC) and TSDSI, India’s Telecom Standards Development Organisation.
The Benefits of a Merger
During the RAN plenary meeting, the notion to merge 5Gi into 5G received huge support from many TSDSI member companies, as well as global cellular vendors and multiple operators. The key requirements and the next steps needed to be taken to unify 5Gi with 5G was advocated as part of the 3GPP 5G standards in the deliberations of 5G Release 17. The chairman of TSDSI, N.G. Subramaniam said in a statement that this is a big step being taken towards India’s objective of offering enhanced coverage across rural, remote, and urban areas. He said that the amalgamation of 5Gi into 3GPP 5G standards not only enables a single common specification going forward but also creates a single radio access solution for 5G deployments in India and globally. He stated that the idea of merging 5Gi into 3GPP 5G standards received a positive response from the global stakeholders. He added that TSDSI and 3GPP will continue to work together to bring this to fruition. In addition to this, the key features of 5Gi were advocated by the global stakeholders solidifying the possibility of it becoming a part of 3GPP 5G standards. Indian stakeholders acknowledged this appreciation for the collective support and efforts by the global stakeholders. The fulfilment of the merging of 5Gi into 3GPP 5G standards is a big breakthrough in bringing together the stakeholders from across the globe to work together in partnership with India, which will ultimately result in affordable 5G services in rural and remote settings promoting SDGs and Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.
