GoI requests Apple, Samsung, and other phone makers for a meeting to discuss the immediate release of a 5G update

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Shubham Sawarkar is a technology journalist at GadgetBond, covering Apple, AI, consumer technology, software, gadgets, and product launches. His work explores emerging technologies, industry developments, product...

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Oct 12, 2022, 2:09 PM EDT

On the first day of the October 2022 Indian Mobile Congress in Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi officially launched 5G services in India. With that, two of India’s largest service providers, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio, announced that they will soon launch 5G internet for regular consumers.

While some users have been able to access 5G internet in selected cities across India, iPhone users in India have not been able to access 5G internet speeds. Along with iPhone users, several users of top-tier Samsung and OnePlus devices have been unable to access 5G internet in their cities, whereas users of several budget smartphones have been able to.

When smartphone manufacturers first began selling 5G-ready devices in India, they disabled the 5G bands that they had included in the devices, actually mainly to improve battery life. The plan was for these bands to be activated via software update once India had proper 5G coverage across its geographical and political borders and people could reasonably expect 5G services to work.

The surprising thing here is that devices half the price of an Apple or Samsung flagship have always had their 5G bands activated. These devices include smartphones from companies such as Xiaomi, Vivo, Oppo, and Realme.

Considering that the majority of foreign dignitaries visiting India will be using an iPhone and that the majority of our ministers and their staff use iPhones for security reasons, Apple must release an update that enables 5G on their devices as soon as possible.

The meeting has been called and will be attended by some of the top executives from smartphone manufacturers such as Apple, Samsung, Vivo, Xiaomi, and a number of other domestic players, as well as executives from the Indian telco industry.

According to sources with firsthand knowledge of the situation, the main issue is that, because India has developed its own 5G technology, companies such as Apple and Samsung are still reviewing their software and determining how to make it compatible with India’s 5G technology.

Apple is currently considering several 5G offerings from Indian network operators, according to a third source with firsthand knowledge of the situation.