Fiber, 5G rollouts to address rising data demand: Ind-Ra

Fifth generation (5G) technology, as well as fiber-based connectivity, would address the exponentially growing data demand, India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) Monday said.

“India’s wireless data usage to reach 13 exabytes per month by 2025. The existing technology is inadequate to meet such high data demand and therefore, a judicious mix of fiberisation and 5G rollout will be required,” Mumbai-based agency in a statement said.

Fiberisation, together with complimentary high-speed 5G wireless technology, according to it, would be required as existing 4G ecosystem may face capacity and technological constraints.

Currently, India ranks low in fiberisation with nearly 25% of its 4.70 lakh mobile towers are connected with optic-fibre cable.

Ind-Ra also believes that a customised 5G or 4G+ technology would be required than adopting global standards for 5G in toto to focus on improving user experience and cater to evolving enterprise requirement.

“From the spectrum band perspective, a judicious mix of 700 megahertz (MHz) and C band (3.4-3.6 Ghz) would be ideal, as it would ensure wider coverage and provide good capacity,” the statement added.

The firm also added that from a network infrastructure perspective, hotspot devices with 3G/4G compatibility will take precedence over handsets in 5G deployment.

The Narendra Modi-led NDA government is banking on the newer technology with the Department of Telecom (DoT) setting up a high-level 5G Forum to oversee 5G roadmap and rollout of services in tandem with matured markets worldwide.

The department is gearing to hold mega airwaves sale including frequencies in the 3300-3600 Mhz range, used to offer high-speed 5G services, during the second half of 2019, while incumbents such as Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel resist such sale anytime soon due to continued financial stress.

Spectrum in 3.2-6.0GHz and 24-28 GHz bands, according to the agency, are being adopted globally for 5G trials. Selectively, higher bands in 32-43 GHz are also being evaluated.