The company also feels that the Indian government should allow affordable next-generation airwaves to the Indian operators.
Chinese telecom giant Huawei has made significant headway in the 5G technology worldwide including India despite US restrictions on its business, a top company executive told ETTelecom.
Ken Hu, Deputy Chairman and Rotating CEO at Huawei, told the daily that the firm has inked over 60 commercial deals, and by next year, the firm would be able to gauge 5G contribution to its overall business.
“The current phase is an accelerated phase of 5G commercial rollouts and to see how much 5G contributes to the Huawei’s overall share, we have to wait until next year for a clearer picture when China has a first commercial deployment,” Hu was quoted as saying.
Huawei was put on the US blacklist in May over security-related allegations. Last month the US government gave the Chinese firm a 90-day extension to the reprieve that lets the company continue to do business with American counterparts. That reprieve is now extended until November 19.
5G rollout in India
The Trump administration has also issued an advisory to India asking it to shun the Chinese gear maker. However, the government is yet to decide on whether it will allow Huawei in the 5G trials and rollouts.
Earlier Ritchie Peng, chief marketing officer, wireless network product line, Huawei, had said that banning the company in India will delay the rollout of 5G services in the country by two to three years.
Meanwhile, India’s market leader Vodafone Idea has already entered into an alliance with the Chinese company to run the 5G network pilot initiative. It is also under advanced discussions with Bharti Airtel for a similar partnership.
India operators need affordable 5G spectrum
Huawei also feels that the Indian government should allow affordable next-generation airwaves to the Indian operators.
“Government should allow spectrum resource at a cheaper price to Indian carriers and hope that it will be allocated in an efficient manner so that industry will have contiguous radio waves,” the top executive said.
Last year, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) suggested Rs. 492 crore per unit as a base price for frequency in the 3.3 GHz – 3.6 GHz band.
The Bro(BIF) has recently urged the government to ensure spectrum adequacy and reasonable reserve price for successful 5G auctions.
The current reserve price of 5G spectrum is approximately 5 to 6 times higher than in other countries and needs urgent revision, Broadband India Forum (BIF) President T.V. Ramachandran said in a statement.
