Bharti Airtel has reportedly written to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) requesting it to formulate guidelines mandating that new 5G devices launched or sold in India must support all existing 5G bands.
Airtel further highlighted that dual-SIM handsets should have support for 2G, 3G, and 4G on both slots, as well as dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS).
As per Airtel, the provision of 5G services in the existing multiple spectrum bands can only happen with the availability of handsets if the minimum features to support 5G services are ensured. Further, 50 per cent of smartphone users in India change or upgrade their devices after two years, and any further delay in creating a supportive device ecosystem will hamper India’s 5G leadership ambitions, Airtel said.
