Govt To Push Apple, Samsung, Other Smartphone Makers For Faster 5G Upgrades: Report

With the launch of 5G telecom services in India, the Indian government is now reportedly looking to push the top smartphone manufacturers like Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi, and others, to prioritise software upgrade rollouts that can support 5G in the country.

Top bureaucrats from the telecom and IT departments are set to chair a closed-door meeting on Wednesday (October 12) for early 5G adoption, a government document seen by news agency Reuters revealed. 

As per the document, foreign companies like Apple, Samsung, Vivo, and Xiaomi, as well as domestic telecom operators Reliance, Airtel, and Vodafone Idea, have been asked to be present at the meeting.

The meeting’s agenda reportedly includes holding talks “to prioritise” and release software upgrades that can support the high-speed network.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched 5G services in the country on October 1. The next-gen service is set to be rolled out in a phased manner, with 13 cities including Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Pune to get them in the first phase.

Speaking at an event, Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani said that Jio is committed to delivering 5G to “every town, every taluka, and every tehsil of our country by December 2023”. Reliance Jio has already announced the beta launch of 5G services in four cities.

Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel announced its 5G roll out in eight Indian cities on October 1.

However, the smartphone manufacturers in the country are yet to upgrade their systems to support 5G adoption. Three industry sources told Reuters that Apple’s iPhone models, including the latest iPhone 14, and several premier phones of Samsung do not have software compatible for supporting 5G services in the country.

“Apple has been taking a lot of time. Airtel has been concerned about this as many of their premium clients are on Apple devices,” a second industry source with direct knowledge of the situation was quoted as saying. As per the source, Apple and Airtel have also been holding talks on the matter.

Meanwhile, a third source told the news agency that Apple is already in the process of testing and validating different 5G offerings from network providers.

The delay in 5G software upgrades has already raised concerns among the customers.

Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma in a recent tweet tagged Airtel to say that his Google Pixel 6a was not showing 5G network option in Delhi. “All upgrades done and I bought this phone just to use 5G!” Sharma said. He also tagged Google India asking the company for a software upgrade.

In response to Sharma’s tweet, a user named Mudit Mathur revealed his conversation with Google Support team that informed him about the company’s target to release the 5G feature by December.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) concluded the 5G spectrum auction in August this year in which Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea, and Adani Data Networks bid for spectrum worth as much as INR 1.50 Lakh Cr.

As per a GSMA Intelligence report, 5G is set to contribute $450 Bn to India’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 2040, around 0.6% of the country’s total GDP by that time.