India is Creating its Own 5G Technology Stack "Very Quickly": Ashley Vaishnaw

India is making rapid progress in developing its 5G technology stack, according to Telecom and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. He also stated that no other country can match the amount of trust India can generate.

Vaishnaw stated. "We are very rapidly progressing on developing our own 5G technology stack. There is a huge interest among the whole world community in having a good trusted and affordable technology source for telecom because telecom is today the primary consumption point for all digital services. People want a trusted telecom solution. And as you know, the trust which India can bring, no other country can match" 

Many countries, including the US and Europe have banned Chinese companies from manufacturing 5G telecom equipment. India also has a process for approval of reliable telecom equipment to be used in its local networks.

Ashwini Vaishnaw voiced concern about the lack of semiconductors during an interview with PTI. He also explained the government's plans for 1.25 million mobile sites to be deployed in the BSNL network, using locally-developed technology gears. In the next few months, he stated that the first proposal for high-tech electronic chip projects will be approved.

Minister said that the new 4G technology stack was now mature and scalable and that it can be used across more than 15,000 towers.

"Billions of simultaneous calls have been done on it to test its ruggedness. Our target is to deploy over about 1.25 lakh towers in the coming few months. 2G and 3G equipment have to be replaced by 4G. The only challenge is semiconductor chips that go in radios," Ashwini Vashnaw stated.

Ashwini Vaishnaw reports that the government is currently reviewing the applications for semiconductor plants received as part of its Rs76,000 crore Semicon Mission.

"We are in a very advanced stage of evaluation of the applications, which were received in February. I wouldn't like to comment on their status at this point in time. But, we believe that in the coming few months, we should have the first agreement signed this year," he added.