According to Intel India's Head, Private 5G Networks Will Enable "Hero" Applications of the Technology

According to Intel India's country head Nivruti Rai, private 5G networks will help India realise the full potential of the technology. Rai added that the global chipmaker is collaborating with enterprises to deploy 5G networks at their factories.

“Private 5G is the way to go for India to show hero use cases of 5G. We may not be able to put 5G to full-scale deployment, but we should try out these private 5G uses,” Rai, who is also the vice president of Intel Foundry Services, said. “I do want to participate and there are companies that we are working with to make their factories deploy 5G.”

Intel, however, did not specify whether it would seek 5G spectrum from the government directly as a non-telecom player. In addition, the company has ruled out directly participating in the government's subsidy scheme for establishing semiconductor manufacturing units in the country.

The remarks come as telecom operators and technology firms clash over the government's approval of a policy that allows non-telecom companies to purchase non-public captive or private 5G networks. It has been stated that licensed telecom players are fully capable of providing customised solutions to private and public sector entities in a competitive and cost-effective manner.