The Observer Volume 19 Issue 4

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The Observer An IIJNM publication

Bengaluru’s slum-dwellers don’t have basic amenities in their houses | P 2

Vol 19, Issue 4

@theweeklyobserver Epaper:https://issuu.com/ theweeklyobserver/docs Website: http://www. theweeklyobserver.in

Tuesday, September 17,2019

Poor maintenance of Science Park leaves visitors diappointed | P 3

Mantri stops paying EMIs, Loose cables and wires danger for citizens leaves buyers in distress pose Bescom says Flats supposed to be given in ’17 not delivered yet

they should go underground

Nissim Jacob

Tamanna Yasmin

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undreds of buyers in the Mantri Webcity apartment project are in distress due to an alleged fraud by Mantri Developers.

Apartment buyer Syed Nabeel Ahmed informed The Observer: “In July 2014, I booked a 3-bedroom flat at Mantri Webcity. I paid Rs 17 lakh as down payment and took a home loan of Rs 68 lakh from PNBHFL (Punjab National Bank Housing Finance Ltd). Mantri stopped paying EMIs after January 2017. Since then, every month, I’m paying Rs 75,000 without any hope. My flat was supposed to be ready by March 2017. It is 2019, and there’s no progress yet.”

Sai Pramod, another customer and RERA complainant, shared: “I pay Rs 70,000 monthly to the bank which Mantri Developers has to pay. Eight of us lodged a complaint against the firm at the Cubbon Park police station. It has been 90 days, but there’s no visible impact on Mantri.”

Another buyer and com-

Buyers protesting in front of the Mantri Developers head office on Vittal Mallya Road | Courtesy: Sai Pramod plainant, Jayapal Reddy, said: “Almost 400 customers come under this pre-EMI buyback scheme.

Every one of them has been cheated. Some of them are fighting through FIRs, RERA, KAT (Kerala Administrative Tribunal), etc.

But I don’t see any hope.”

Mantri Developers rejected The Observer’s request to interact with them.

“I had paid 85% of the amount as of 2015 and (am) waiting for my flat booked in November 2014.

The promised date was 2017, but

oose cables and wires are found in several areas across Bengaluru. Residents in areas such as Halasuru have complained about the hazards posed by them, particularly in the rainy season.

Vinod, a resident of Halasuru, informed The Observer: “Some of the wires hang fully on pavements, making it difficult for pedestrians to walk. As it is the rainy season, there is a greater risk.”

Another resident, Govindraju, who works at a magazine stall,

tion, said: “These cables need to be put underground like how did in Majestic. They are a public inconvenience.”

Asked about the problem, H.M. Shivaprakash, Bescom General Manager for customer relations, said: “Maintenance work begins in April as part of our measures for pre-monsoon preparedness.

Some wires and cables get damaged during the monsoon and that the problem is unavoidable.”

All customer complaints are attended, the official said. As part of maintenance work, Bescom undertakes activities like “tree trimming, pole straightening and transformer repair”. The only solution is laying high-tension and low-tension cables underground.

The project, he said, is estimated to cost around Rs 5,400 crore. The measure would give uninterrupted power supply to Ben-

we get a new date every six months. There is minimum progress. At this rate, it will take another 5-7 years for completion,” said Vikas Chhatwal, a buyer who plans to file a RERA complaint.

The buyers say they are unable to contact Mantri Developers.

Their calls and emails are ignored. Company officials refused to meet the buyers when they visited the head office on Vittal Mallya Road. They then protested in front of the office.

Continued on page 2

News briefs Oil price increases: An attack on Saudi Arabia’s largest oil processing plant pushed crude prices sharply higher Monday, though its longer-term impact depends on how long production is disrupted.

SC agrees with Centre: The Supreme Court on Monday found the government’s statistics of thousands of instances of death, terror and violence in J&K from 1990 as “formidable reasons” leading to the August 5, 2019 lockdown that followed the withdrawal of special rights and privileges of Kashmiri people with the reading down of Article 370.

NC President confined to a room: National Conference president and MP from Srinagar, Farooq Abdullah, will be confined to a single room in his house located on Srinagar’s Gupkar Road,

hours after Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar, Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, approved his detention under the Public Safety Act. Ecuadorian data leak: Almost the entire population of Ecuador had their personal data leaked online, security experts said Monday, a massive breach that the government called a "very delicate" issue. An estimated 17 million people, including almost seven million minors and children, had their data exposed by a breach on an unsecured server run by an Ecuadorean marketing and analytics firm.

Israel votes: Israelis began voting on Tuesday in an unprecedented repeat election that will decide whether long-time Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stays in power despite a looming indictment on corruption charges.

DRDO UAV crashes: An unmanned aerial vehicle which had lost its control from DRDO at Kudapura in Chitradurga district crashed in an arecanut farm in Jodichikkenahalli of Challekere taluk of the district on Tuesday.

Hindi Row: Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa went into damage control mode by reiterating his government’s commitment to Kannada on Monday. This comes two days after Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement on Hindi being the only language that can unify the country sparking opposition.

Elevated Corridor: BJP that opposed the elevated corridor project, while in Opposition, seems to be batting for it now in power, much to the chagrin of civic groups that have been vociferously protesting against it.

Loose wires and cables are dangling in Halasuru,worrying citizens Credit:Nissim Jacob agreed with Vinod. “The problem of loose cables and wires has been there for a long time,” he said.

Rajagopal, a shopowner and resident of Halasuru, said: “When wires get damaged, instead of replacing them, they simply join them. They finish the work in 10 minutes, and never confirm with the people who have lodged the complaint.”

The problem has affected Rajagopal’s business adversely. His customers feel uncomfortable because of the loose cables and wires.

Mohammed, who runs a mobile store near Halasuru metro sta-

galuru.

Bescom has estimated that the work will get over by 2023 and has begun work in some neighbourhoods.

However, Dr VR Ramesh, head of the civil engineering department at the Rajarajeshwari College of Engineering and soil expert, said laying the cables underground would take much longer and cause incovenience to citizens. He added that it will lead to an increase in traffic congestion in the city as the roads would be dug up to lay the cables underground.

Continued on page 3

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CITY

The Observer Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Slum-dwellers in Bengaluru struggle to make a living

Depend on unclean water that is not enough for their needs Shivani Priyam

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lum-dwellers of Bengaluru live in small houses with limited amenities and poor hygiene. “It has become a way of life,” they say.

Somya, a housewife and resident of Bovi Colony, Thyagaraja Nagar, informed The Observer: “I live in a house which consists of a kitchen, a small room and an exterior restroom with my husband and two children. I had to pay a sum of Rs 3 lakhs as lease to the owner, who stays nearby. The water supply is irregular. We get drinking water on alternate days.

Moreover, the water stored in our tanks gets over soon. Once the tanks become empty, we’ve to go without water.”

Shalini, another resident of Bovi Colony, said: “Our small house, comprising a kitchen and a hall, is not sufficient to accommodate the five members of our family. I have lived here with my husband, our small child, my mother and brother for almost ten years. When there is no supply of Cauvery water, I use water from a container in the bathroom. It meets our drinking and washing needs.”

Residents of slums like Bovi Colony wish they had proper sanitation and regular water supply.

They depend on borewell water or water stored in tanks. The latter is unfit for consumption.

Santosh Kumar, a resident, said: “What can we do? It is too expensive to install filters.” Sometimes the residents leave containers outside their houses, in the sun, with flies and mosquitoes

A slum in Lakshmipuram, Kempegowda Nagar, south Bengaluru | Credit: Shivani Priyam gathering on the stagnant water.

Similar is the case with Sanyasikunte, Gavipuram, where most slum-dwellers are domestic helps, drivers and garland makers.

K. Ravi of Kempegowda Nagar, also in south Bengaluru, shared: “I weave garlands and earn around Rs 1,000 a day. Weaving flowers is not only a profession but a way to sustain our livelihood.”

“The house in which I live is on a lease that has cost me dear. I have paid around Rs 1,35,000 this

year to the owner,” said Rajamma, a domestic help in Lakshmipuram.

Vasanth Kumar, a resident of Ejipura, east Bengaluru, informed The Observer: “Mall construction work in the area has led to the uprooting of many residents. Even though the dwellers have got alternative accommodation, the delay in the settlement process by BBMP has created problems for us.”

S.G. Padmanabh, assistant executive engineer, Karnataka

Slum Development Board, said: “We have been focusing on the development of slums. We have undertaken no rehabilitation works that have uprooted the poor.”

Bharath B, who works as a project head for Youth for Seva, an NGO, said: “We are working for the upliftment and rehabilitation of the poor and the slum residents, by employing thousands of youths across the city to come and interact with children of the slums and guide them across career paths.”

A survey based on socioeconomic data from slums in Bengaluru, conducted by writer and JNU professor Niveditha Menon says that a shortage of housing and an increased demand for manpower in the city has led to the growth and emergence of slums.

The number of slums in Bengaluru has grown from 159 in 1971 to over 2,000 (notified and non-notified) in 2015. Those living in slums accounted for just over 10% of the city’s population in 1971. The number of slumdwellers in Bengaluru in 2015 was an estimated 25-35%.

The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, an initiative of the government of India, aims to provide affordable housing to the urban poor. It aims to build 20 million safe and affordable houses by March 31, 2022. Whether the Yojana will bring relief to Bengaluru’s slum-dwellers remains to be seen. Over the years, the city has seen expansion corresponding to different waves of industrialization and immigration. shivani.p@iijnm.org

Mantri not complying with RERA orders:Buyers Continued from page 1

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n 2014, Mantri launched Mantri Webcity, located on Hennur Main Road. The buyers were supposed to make a down payment of 20% and the rest 80% through a bank loan.

The firm clearly mentioned the loan should be availed only from Punjab National Bank (PNB).

One of their advertisements mentioned: “Double your investment in just 3 years. Assured 100% return. Invest Rs 12.5 lacs, take home Rs 25 lacs, in just 3 years.”

The first apartments were scheduled to be completed by 2015. However, even in 2019, there is not enough progress.

The most attractive part of the offer was Mantri’s promise of paying back the EMIs to the buyers for first three years after receiving the down payment.

Several buyers alleged that the firm had paid the EMIs for the first few months. After that, there were delays in payment. Finally,

Mantri Webcity apartments are still under construction | Courtesy: Sai Pramod they stopped paying EMIs. Since then, the buyers are paying the EMIs with no hope of getting their booked flats.

Mantri Developers filed a writ petition in the Karnataka High Court on August 5 in response to

the FIRs lodged against them by the buyers.

B. Iyanna Reddy, inspector of the Cubbon Park police station, said: “So far, eight FIRs have been lodged against Mantri Developers. A notice has been issued to the accused. Now, they have filed a writ petition… appealing that this is a civil matter, and police should not be involved.”

The buyers also question the role of PNB. But the bank told them, Pramod said, to continue paying to clear their loans: “We spoke to PNB. They said that they gave loan to the buyer based on his financial position, and they have nothing to do with what happens to the firm.”

According to the data on the RERA (Real Estate Regulatory Authority) Karnataka website, 93 complaints have been filed against Mantri Developers under Section 31 of the RERA Act. Despite most of the judgments been awarded in favour of the buyers, it is alleged that Mantri is not following the orders.

A March 14, 2019, RERA judgment said: “The developer is hereby directed to return the own contribution amount Rs 41,04,365/- to the complainant together with the interest of 10.75% p.a with effect from April 2019 till the release of entire amount…

The developer shall pay Rs 5,000/- as a cost of this petition.”

RERA officials turned down The Observer’s request for an interview.

Advocate Bojanna KJ, who fought for one of the buyers in RERA, informed The Observer: “When RERA passes an order favouring the home buyers then the buyers have the right to execute the order. The order is a decree passed by a civil court. The judgment file is carried to the district collector or deputy commissioner’s office, and a notice is sent to the builder. After that it is the builder’s responsibility to comply with the order, otherwise the DC takes strict action against the builder.” tamanna.y@iijnm.org

Citizen’s voice Hefty penalties

Following in Gujarat's footsteps, the Karnataka government is considering slashing heavy penalties for violation of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019.

The hefty fines make an offender think twice before committing any traffic violation. Reduction of penalties will again increase traffic offences.

Arghyadeep Dutta

Collegium decision

Justice Vijaya Tahilramani’s transfer to the Meghalaya HC by the Supreme Court collegium raises pertinent questions on the efficiency and transparency of the system. The collegium has issued a clarification for its decision. But it seems there are many layers of opaqueness under which it functions.

Priyansh Verma

Attention diversion

Recently the comment of commerce minister Piyush Goyal about Einstein being the discoverer of gravity raised a huge furore on social media. The sad part is that mainstream media misses core issues such as the slowdown of our economy. Often, politicians make such statements to divert the attention from real issues.

Anil Kumar Tiwari

Trolling of netas

Union ministers not understanding the words they speak and trying to defend the economic slowdown with illogical references have been trolled on social media. Before making absurd statements to justify the economic slump, ministers should know that they represent the nation. If prominent people do not understand the implications of their assertions, then more hash tag trolls will be on the way. Not just a millennial but everyone is a political satirist online.

Shalu Chowrasia

Regional wars

The surge in oil-prices after the attacks on two oil fields in Saudi Arabia, allegedly by Yemen's Houthi rebels, has once again highlighted the global threats of guerrilla warfare. Bickering among the Gulf nations is not a regional problem anymore. However, irresponsible threats of military intervention by superpowers are not the solution. The primary stakeholders in the Gulf should be pressed to negotiate an end to this humanitarian crisis soon.

Niket Nishant

Hindi imposition

India has 43.63 per cent Hindispeaking population, which is less than half. Hindi is the official language of the country and not a national language. So it is unwise to impose Hindi on the non-Hindi speakers. Vernacular languages must be given equal importance.

Amit Shah’s suggestion on India’s integration through one language is absurd. Linguistic diversity of the country shouldn’t be compromised with.

Manasvi Gupta

CITY

The Observer Tuesday, September 17, 2019

3

Science Park gadgets and ‘Putting wires underground will lead to traffic congestion’ equipment out of order, visitors left disappointed “L Continued from page 1

arge stretches of road would need to be dug for the work. This would only increase traffic in a city where congestion is a huge problem. Ideally, we should have the cables underground, like in western countries. However India is a poor country. Power theft is quite common in our country. With the cables going underground, power theft is not going to stop. The only difference would be that the risk of death would be much higher in cases of power theft from the underground.”

Dr Ramesh pointed out that cables hung by TV and internet service providers cause inconvenience to the citizens and authori-

Poor maintenance, and mishandling are likely reasons Meghna Das Chowdhury

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ost gadgets and equipment at the Science Park of the Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium are dysfunctional, leaving visitors disappointed.

“I have visited this Science Park before,” said Sreeya, a visitor. “Earlier when I came here, all equipment worked properly. But now, I am surprised to see a lot of them out of order. I am disappointed.”

The Science Park, which is outside the planetarium, is a big draw.

Students The Observer spoke with said they were disappointed and had lost interest in the park.

“I have come here for the first time, and wanted to see how the pendulum works. But I saw that it was not working according to the instructions mentioned.

Therefore, I didn’t understand anything,” said Ankit Rao, a class 5 student who was visiting the place as part of a school trip.

Savitramma, a regular visitor to the park, said the gadgets are not properly maintained, causing their degradation. Rainwater has led to them being rusted.

Asked about the situation, Anindita Ray, a science professor in Techno India College of Technology, said: “The equipment should be treated more carefully.

All equipment in a science park requires a lot of maintenance. If it is not done, then obviously the equipment won’t work properly.

Moreover the change in weather also affects the machines. It would be better if there is a guide for the visitors who can explain the working principles of the gadgets.”

The security guard of the park said visitors often mishandle the gadgets.

The equipment is supposed to show water tornado, but it is out of order Credit: Meghna Das Chowdhury Deputy administrative officer of the planetarium G.K. Rajeshwari informed: “We have an annual contract with a body that pays a visit here to look after the equipment and maintain them.

We are aware of the fact that few equipment are not working like they should. We are working on it and trying to solve the problem as soon as possible.”

She added: “On an average, 800-1000 people visit the Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium every day. Though most of the visitors

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ties should do more to check this.

The Observer had carried a similar story on loose wires and cables hanging over Magrath Road, central Bengaluru, in on February 8, 2018.

The story highlighted citizens’ concerns over loose wires, some of which lay on footpaths and roads.

They said the cables posed a danger to pedestrians and twowheeler riders. The wires were a combination of electricity, telephone and television wires. They complained of inaction and lack of response from authorities concerned. The authorities had said that work would be carried out in the area.

The problem is found all over Bengaluru. nissim.j@iijnm.org

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come to the planetarium for its shows, a significant number of them spend a good time at the science park. Therefore, we try our best to maintain the science park, but sometimes due to various issues the maintenance is not up to date.”

The planetarium was built in 1989 and the Science Park in 2000. The Science Park has various gadgets which makes it easy to understand the complexities of physics. meghna.c@iijnm.org

Loose wires and cables are found in plenty near Halasuru Metro Credit: Nissim Jacob

Twitterati talk @BBMPCOMM BBMP has taken up Special Revision of Voters List 2020 & electors verification in Palike areas. I urge first time voters & others to get themselves enrolled either online or at seva kendras. Documents required are passport, EPIC, DL, ration card, bank passbook, Govt IDs etc.

BH Anil Kumar @kiranshaw Dalit MP denied entry into Gollarahatti in Tumakuru -The Hindu -Most disturbing as we were trying to help them with poverty alleviation but looks like their lack of education makes them prefer

poverty over prejudice Kiran Majumdar Shaw @amargov Bengaluru needs its own directly-elected mayor, and this needs power to be devolved from the state to the BBMP. Why will CMs whose political base is outside Bangalore try too hard to develop the city? This misalignment needs fixing. @AishwaryaSudhir #Bengaluru we can't go down the #Delhi route. There are lessons to learn from Okhla! @AdDikshit @kanchikohli Health and #AirPollution a key concern!

Weather Forecast: Thunderstorm Maximum: 28-degree celsius Minimum: 21-degree celsius Humidity: 77% Precipitation: 80%

Team Observer Editor: Nissim Jacob Copy editors: Nissim Jacob, Shoby Krishna, Tamanna Yasmin Reporters: Meghna Das Chowdhury, Nissim Jacob, Tamanna Yasmin, Shivani Priyam Photo editor: Tamanna Yasmin Supplement: Abhinav Kumar

Technology

The Observer Tuesday, September 17. 2019

SUPPLEMENT

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The Coming Communications Revolution 5G marks a turning point in the evolution of home and industrial automation, writes Abhinav Kumar

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ifth generation cellular communication technology, or 5G is faster, can support more devices, and opens the doors for new applications. It promises not just faster download speeds but also other enhancements, such as lower latency, which is the interval between a command and its execution over a network.

Such enhancements will be required for the coming wave of technology products and solutions such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and self-driving cars.

5G networks, which use radio technology called 5G NR (New Radio), allocate chunks of radio bands, some below 6GHz, and others above 24GHz (also known as mmWave). In contrast, 4G LTE have much lower frequencies (Band 5 is around 800MHz mark while Band 40 is around 2300 MHz mark).

It’s the use of higher frequencies that allows 5G to have (theoretically, at least) much faster speeds (and lower latencies) than previous generations – up to 20 Gbps, with latencies as low as 1millisecond (a boon for gamers).

The Samsung Galaxy S10 5G model has a maximum speed of 5Gbps owing to its Qualcomm X50 modem. Future devices will be even faster – the new X55 modem supports speeds up to 7Gbps.

Lower latency will open up new applications. Autonomous vehicles, which need to collect and process information in real time to cope with changing road conditions, smart devices, and IoT (both home and industrial automation systems) and increase the capacity of sensors to transmit data much faster. It will also improve coverage in public spaces whether stadiums, airports or shopping centres.

Unlike with previous generations of communications technology, 5G can cope with a heavier workload (in terms of simultaneous connections) without subjecting users to network dropouts and poor speeds. If you’ve found yourself unable to use WhatsApp when at a cricket match or at a concert, you’ll know what we’re talking about. Once 5G is everywhere, this is one issue that you won’t have to cope with.

But you can’t beat the laws of physics. The higher frequencies used in 5G networks may be great for carrying large amounts of data at once, but they’re terrible at penetrating obstacles. In fact, mmWave 5G can be stopped by your hands! This means that you’re unlikely to get 5G coverage inside a building unless the network has placed indoor signal boosters. Even in open spaces, 5G signals drop off rapidly. This is why the 5G rollouts that have taken place so far have been restricted to dense urban areas, with networks placing cell transmitters at short distances.

5G networks are beginning to take off and are expected to be prevalent across the world by 2020. They will work alongside the already existing 3G and 4G technology to provide faster internet connections irrespective of the place where you stay.

India is also in the midst of preparing for 5G networks. TRAI has chosen the 3.3 Ghz to 3.6 Ghz band as the main band for 5G (spectrum availability is limited as much of it is earmarked for defense and government purposes), while many telcos have expressed concern that the asking price could be too high to make services financially viable in a price-sensitive market like ours. According to current plans, the TRAI envisages spectrum auction to be com-

pleted this year, with commercial roll-out sometime in 2020.

“In order to make 5G a success in India it is essential to invest on network densification h e a v i l y through provisioning of fibre, small cell and mobile towers,” says Ankur Chaudhary, who heads Credit:Pexels communications at the Tower and Infrastructure Providers Association.

Reliance Jio Infocomm (RJIO), a wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), is ready to launch next generation 5G services in India, following allocation of spectrum by the Department of Communications (DOT). Further, Nasdaq-listed Radisys Corp, a company that was acquired by RIL in June last year, would be working with the industry to develop a 5G ecosystem in India.

Apart from the allocation of spectrum, a lot of testing and readying has to be conducted before JIO can launch the services.

The company has also alerted authorities including licensor DOT and the regulator TRAI of its requirement of additional spectrum. The company is also continuing to expand optical fibre deployments by adding “hundreds of thousands” of route kilometers.

The telecom industry is expecting a commercial launch of 5G services in India by end of 2020, assuming spectrum allocation happens this year. The 5G evolution, which the company calls the 2.0 transformation in the telecom sector, would be embarked upon “with or without” Reliance Communications (RCOM) spectrum it was looking to acquire.

Anshuman Thakur, strategy head for JIO, told The Economic Times that the telecom company is ready for 5G and has the network and ‘backhaul’ (the intermediate links between the core network and the small sub networks at the edge of the network) in place. The only investments needed now would be in spectrum and electronic equipment. He said a lot would depend on the vi-

ability of ‘use cases’ (or the set of possible sequences of interactions between systems and users in a particular environment and related to a particular goal) and the development of ecosystem around the use cases.

The pricing of the spectrum for 5G has been a contentious issue and all private players including Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea have raised the issue.The sector regulator, TRAI has suggested a base price for 5G airwaves at Rs.492 per MHz. It has also proposed sale of a minimum 20 MHz blocks, which would mean spending amounting to Rs.10,000 crore for 20 MHz, and Rs.50,000 crore for 100 MHz. The regulator has refused to reduce prices and the telecom department will now take the final call. According to sector experts, the department is unlikely to make any changes and will go with what the regulator has said.

The government plans to hold the largest spectrum auction later this year, where some 8,293.95 MHz of airwaves at an estimated total base price of Rs.5.86 lakh crore will be on offer.

China Mobile and ZTE established China’s first 5G pre-commercial testing base stations in Guangzhou. In November 2017, China Mobile, Qualcomm and ZTE together implemented the world’s first 5G New Radio Interoperability Data Testing based on 3GPP Release 15 standard. The three companies represent the operator, system up-stream provider and terminal provider, all together constituting a complete 5G communication link.

This event marked a milestone in

5G testing process.

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he tech website pandadaily.com which has reported widely about China Mobile and 5G says, China Mobile has released the largest endto-end communication solution based on 3GPP standards, including nine manufacturers involved in base stations, terminal chips and test instruments.

China Mobile also released 5G commercial product prototype and test results, and published the technical requirements for end-to-end large-scale 5G testing. It was announced that China Mobile will build the world’s largest 5G test network and put forth a 5G test plan. It will carry out field tests inHangzhou,Shanghai,Guangzh ou, Suzhou, and Wuhan, and will build more than 100 5G base stations in each city and offer 5G services and application demonstrations in 12 cities: Beijing, Xiong’an, Tianjin, Fuzhou, Chongqing, Chengdu, Nanchang, Nanning, Shenzhen, Zhengzhou, Shenyang and Lanzhou.

China Mobile has joined 20 terminal partners to launch the 5G Terminal Program, marking a pioneer. The 20 companies include six major chip manufacturers which are Qualcomm, Huawei, Mediatek, Tsinghua Unigroup, Intel, and Samsung, 10 major terminal manufacturers including OPPO, Vivo, Xiaomi, ZTE, Lenovo, HTC, Hisense, and TCL; and four component companies which are Qorvo, Skyworks, Taiyo Yuden and Feixiang.

Waiting and Watching There aren’t that many 5G devices on the market yet. Part of the reason is that 5G modems are few and far between – Qualcomm’s X50 and X55, Samsung’s Exynos Modem 5100, and Huawei’s Balong 5000 5G are what you’ll find in a 5G smartphone. Over time, as the tech matures, these will just get built right into the SoC, and of course, bring along benefits such as lower power consumption. But for now, we’d advise Indian users to hold off on buying a 5G device (you can’t buy one through official channels as of now).

Despite the limited availability of 5G phones, Samsung Galaxy S10 5G and OnePlus 7 Pro 5G are already out in the market. Motorola also makes a 5G Moto Mod for the Z3, while LG has its dual-screen V50 ThinQ 5G and Xiaomi makes the Mi MIX 3 5G. And waiting in the wings are the Huawei Mate X (yes, the foldable phone), along with devices from pretty much every smartphone brand. As for Apple, it might release at least one 5G variant of the iPhone this year, with next year’s crop hopefully offering even more choice.Apple recently bought Intel’s modem business.