New Delhi — India has decided to proceed with 5G technology and spectrum testing and has invited companies of various nationalities except Chinese.
According to experts, India is keeping China’s 5G out of the huge market because last year’s border dispute and its elimination would have an economic impact on Chinese entities.
On May 4, the Government of India’s Telecommunications Bureau granted permission to four telecommunications service providers (TSPs) to test the use and application of 5G technology, according to a statement by the Ministry of Communications.
“These TSPs are affiliated with partner brand suppliers and technology providers such as Ericsson, Nokia, Samsung and C-DOT. Also, Reliance Geoinfocom Corporation. [Indian company] We will also conduct tests using our own technology, “the ministry said in a statement.
S. Chandrashekhar, Visiting Professor, India National Institute of Advanced Studies With an interest in research on telecommunications and national security issues in the context of India, excluding China from 5G testing in India would hurt it economically, he told The Epoch Times in an email. ..
“I’m sure the Chinese knew this would happen if India opted out of Chinese standards, but it would definitely hurt them,” said Chandra Shekar. He wrote that if China had won the Indian market, China’s 5G value would have grown exponentially.
Harsh V, Research Director and Head of Strategic Research Program, Observer Research Foundation based in New Delhi. Pant told The Epoch Times over the phone that India is expected to exclude China from 5G trials due to bilateral turmoil. Relationship.
“India continues to pursue a strong path to China. Until early last year, India had shown its willingness to include Chinese companies in its 5G trials,” said Pant. I am. However, in response to the border crisis in Ladakh, China’s reluctance to address India’s concerns, and attempts to unilaterally change the status quo of its borders, India will formulate foreign policy accordingly. He said he had decided.
“This is part of that stance, and India is increasingly concerned about China’s involvement in India’s key sectors, which is a reflection of this decision,” Pants said.
How does the network economy work?
Data, information and knowledge drive everything in the world of the future, making everything smarter. The success and failure of these products, such as mobile phones and PCs, is dominated by what is called “network economics.” This means that, according to Chandra Shekar, such devices and services associated with them are only valuable if they are connected.
Smarter technologies include “intelligent sensors, devices, platforms, data collection, data processing, data mining, deep learning, AI, and around the world (land, sea, sky, underwater, space, and perhaps even the moon and planets.” ) — Goods, people, services, manufacturing, almost everyone, and everything will be connected to the Internet, “he writes.
The channel through which this data and information is transferred and exchanged is a key element of this infrastructure, Chandrashekhar wrote.
“5G is a state-of-the-art technology that enhances the ability and capacity of wireless transfer of data, especially from mobile devices to people and things. It generally provides users and things with last mile connectivity,” he said. writing.
In network economics, the higher the number of connected devices, the higher the value, but this value increases exponentially rather than linearly as the number of nodes increases.
“Therefore, a 100-node network is much more valuable than a 50-node network. This means that companies that first establish a large presence in products with network attributes have a great economic advantage. That’s what it means, “writes Chandra Shekar.
“After the company’s first foray into 1G, this understanding led companies to create a common standard and use it to build their own products, because the platforms are the same. Software and peripherals are compatible and economies of scale work according to the standard number of nodes. They compete on the product side, but work together on the platform side, so a consortium of competing companies We’ll get together to develop these common standards. 2G, 3G, and 4G all saw these, “he writes.
According to the report, every new generation has a new standard battle, and 5G is up to date. This is expected to transform India’s industrial sector with an estimated $ 450 billion contribution from 2023-2040 (pdf) According to the Global Systems for Mobile Communication Association (GSMA).
“Given the way China has been doing business with India, I think it’s good to wipe them out,” Chandra Shekar wrote.
Strategic implications of 5G in India
5G is an important aspect of economic development, “infrastructure, manufacturing, services, agriculture”, which makes 5G both private and strategic.
“Destroying it is one way to have a serious impact on our daily lives. Both hardware and software, the network itself, and each node are vulnerable. Many strategists are through hardware and software. , We believe there are backdoor entries that can introduce viruses and other malware into the network and damage important parts of the national economy, “said Chandrashekhar.
Last year, there was ongoing debate in India about including Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE in India’s telecommunications network, but there was growing concern, especially about threats to India’s defense sector.
“5G will bring significant benefits to the Indian military, at least in the next decade. It is widely regarded as a state-of-the-art technology related to military operations,” said the ORF’s Strategic Research Program. Kartik Bommakanti, a Fellow of the, wrote: analysis The end of last year.
“The government has identified that these companies are likely to introduce” trapdoor “or” backdoor “technology that allows Chinese espionage agencies to engage in espionage. If these technologies were installed by Huawei or ZTE, they would probably jeopardize India’s national security, “writes Bommakanti.
Pants said it is for these reasons that India wants to work with like-minded countries on strategic technology.
Chandrashekhar warned that India would be vulnerable because of its lack of unique 5G capabilities. He said India should set up several companies that could compete with “Nokia, Ericsson, or Siemens in the world,” which requires “active support.”