Reliance Jio, in a first, has sought government permission to conduct 5G trials based on design and technology developed by the company, Business Standard reported on Monday.

The telco giant had previously announced that it would broaden its 5G trial runs by partnering with Huawei, Ericsson and Nokia Networks, and not limit itself to Samsung.

The Korean electronics giant was earlier Jio’s core supplier for 4G equipment, it said. The two companies had presented new business opportunities through 5G use-cases at the India Mobile Congress 2019.

If the trials are successful, Jio could outsource design and technology for the equipment to third-party players, the report said.

Jio, which has been working on R&D for quite a while now, declined to comment on the matter, the report said.

Nasdaq-listed Radisys Corp, a company that was acquired by RIL in June 2018, had said at IMC 2019 that it would be working with the industry to develop a 5G ecosystem in India, according to a previous report.

If successful, Jio will be the first Indian player to build its individual 5G design and technology for the country.

Jio’s competitors, Vodafone Idea and Airtel, are currently working on the design of 5G telecom equipment with Nokia, Ericsson and Huawei.

In December 2019 the Centre said it would provide telecom operators and equipment makers spectrum for 5G trials. Initially, the telecom players would conduct trials with vendor partners, followed by the vendors, including Nokia, Ericsson, Samsung, Huawei and ZTE, independently doing so in the second phase, according to previous reports.

Development of 5G tech

The government has been pushing Indian telecom players to build 5G technology in-house. To further the agenda, the Telecommunications Standard Development Society has been pushing for the adoption of Indian standards for 5G as compared to global standards, according to the report.

The cumulative impact of 5G in India would be $1 trillion by 2035, according to a KPMG report.