India to push Apple, Samsung for faster upgrade to support 5G

The Indian government will push Apple, Samsung and other mobile phone manufacturers to prioritize faster the rolling out software upgrades to support 5G services in India.

This comes amidst concerns that many smart phone models are not yet ready for the high-speed services.

Also Read: Airtel 5G service goes live in 8 cities, customers to pay as per 4G plan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched 5G services in India on October 1, with Reliance Jio saying it would make the service available in four cities and Bharti Airtel in eight. Both said the services would expand next year.

However, according to three industry sources and Airtel’s website, Apple’s iPhone models, including the recently released iPhone 14, many premier Samsung phones, do not have software compatible for supporting 5G in India.

Airtel’s website on Tuesday showed “Apple yet to update software” for all of Apple iPhones’ 12 to 14 models under its 5G compatible section. For Samsung too, many models were not ready, Airtel stated, while more than three dozen models of China’s Xiaomi and Vivo were shown as ready for use with its 5G service.

Also Read: 5G users to get up to 600 mbps speed during launch phase: Experts

As a result, top bureaucrats from India’s telecoms and IT departments will chair a meeting on Wednesday (October 12) for the early adoption of 5G in India.

Smartphone executives from foreign companies like Apple, Samsung, Vivo and Xiaomi, as well as domestic telecom operators Reliance, Airtel and Vodafone Idea, have also been asked to join the meeting.

The meeting’s main agenda is prioritize the release of software upgrades to support 5G in India.

Also Read: 5G service launched: Find out if your smartphone supports it

The launch of 5G in India, the world’s biggest mobile market after China, will bring high-speed internet to consumers, with simultaneous socio-economic benefits in sectors like agriculture and health.