Ericsson 5G tesbed suspends work due to unavailability of spectrum

NEW DELHI: Launched with much fanfare by telecom minister Manoj Sinha and Ericsson president and CEO Börje Ekholm last year, Ericsson’s 5G innovation lab has stopped its 5G-related work around technology testing and use cases after its radiating spectrum license expired.

The lab was established in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, at the city campus in July 2018. The centre was set up with the aim to support the Indian government’s plans to foster a robust and vibrant 5G ecosystem in India.

People familiar with the matter said that Ericsson initially got an approval to use radiating spectrum for three months, which it renewed a couple of times. However, Ericsson was asked to pay commercial fee for the usage of trial spectrum now, hence the company stopped the work at the lab.