Samsung to conduct large-scale 5G trials in Delhi in Q1 2019

Samsung is yet to disclose which telcos it will partner with for 5G deployment in India. But Reliance Jio will remain a key partner.

Samsung made its latest 5G announcement at IMC 2018. (AFP)

Telecom equipment maker Samsung Friday said it will conduct 5G large-scale trials here in the first quarter of the next year, engaging closely with the Department of Telecommunications.

"Right now, we are working very closely with the Department of Telecom. We expect to do the trial in the first quarter… it will be in New Delhi...We will also work with many partners on use cases...We don't expect this trial to be something that will be done in two days... We will set it up and over a period of time (see) different use cases," Samsung India Senior Vice President and Head (Network Business) Srinivasan Sundararajan told reporters here.

He added that 5G technology, apart from consumers, can have various use cases across sectors like healthcare, agriculture, smart cities and surveillance. Sundararajan pointed out that the amount of spectrum operators have will "dictate" the kind of use cases they can offer.

He said Samsung is already working with telecom operators in the US and Korea for 5G deployment commercially and that the new-age technology holds huge potential for India from network and associated devices perspective.

In India, Samsung is the telecom gear provider for Reliance Jio's pan-India 4G network.

Asked if Jio's network could be upgraded to 5G, he said the network was built for 5G as it is a complete IP-network which makes it "much easier to adapt" to new technology that comes in with just "software upgrades".