Vodafone-India showcases 5G health, education solutions; to expand trials

Is carrying out 5G trials in Gandhinagar and Pune with tech partners Nokia and Ericsson using 3.5 Ghz and 26 Ghz spectrum; plans to expand trials to automotive, healthcare and IoT

A man walks into a rural health care centre with a swollen arm. A sonography is needed but the centre does not have a doctor who can perform it. In the normal course, the patient would have to travel to a city for treatment.

A 5G service will make remote diagnostics possible allowing a city doctor to conduct a sonography with the aid of haptic gloves. This and such other 5G use cases in education, mobility and security were demonstrated by Vodafone Idea (Vi) at an event in Pune on Friday.

In May, the department of telecommunications allotted 5G trial spectrum to Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vi to demonstrate India specific use cases using new age communication technologies. Spectrum was allotted in 700 Mhz, 3.5 Ghz and 26 Ghz bands. In November the government granted telecom companies an additional six months to carry out these trials.

Vi is carrying out its 5G trials in Gandhinagar and Pune with its technology partners Nokia and Ericsson using both 3.5 Ghz and 26 Ghz spectrum. The company is also in talks with its partners and startups to expand the scope of trials to cover automotive, healthcare and IoT applications.

" Our 5G trials showcase a whole new world of possibilities across various domains that promise a new era of technology advancement in India," the company's managing director and CEO Ravinder Takkar said in a statement.

The company declined comment on questions related to spectrum auction, pricing and rollout of commercial service.

"We see Vodafone Idea as an active partner in the digital vision of the government and as India develops its own 5G plans we will be able to participate," said P Balaji, chief regulatory and corporate affairs officer.

The government plans to carry out a 5G spectrum auction by Next May and has held discussions with telecom companies on rolling out 5G services in a few cities by Independence Day next year.