OnePlus starts exporting 5G phones from India on pilot basis

OnePlus has set up a large research facility in Hyderabad where it is testing 5G devices for carriers in the US and Europe, where the 5G service is expected to explode in a big way in 2020.

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India may be as yet not prepared for launch of the 5G service, but 5G-enabled smartphones are being manufactured here and exported to advanced markets. Leading the pack is OnePlus, the Chinese brand that is owned by BBK Electronics Group of China.

OnePlus has set up a large research facility in Hyderabad where it is testing 5G devices for carriers in the US and Europe, where the 5G service is expected to explode in a big way in 2020. OnePlus has plans to develop India as a major hub for export of its mobile handsets to even distant markets like North America. The manufacturing of the 5G devices is being undertaken in Noida, a facility OnePlus has established along with Oppo. There are already mutual arrangements between the brands, with Oppo making 4G devices for OnePlus here.

OnePlus has been a huge hit with its OnePlus 6T and now OnePlus 7 and 7T and is the leading player in the premium segment in India, the overall leader being Xiaomi.

While all these are happening on the hardware front, the Indian telecommunications industry is still far from launching the 5G connectivity. The spectrum auction is still to be held by the government and on the other infrastructure also, there is hardly any initiative taken. The Swedish company Ericsson feels India may see 5G service only by 2022.

That is a little unfortunate since at least two Asian giants, China and South Korea, have moved far ahead. In China, when the four service providers opened their pre-order registers for 5G service, millions applied and the country expect to have 13 million 5G connections before the year is out. The US market is likely to see 5G coverage available in most states with Verizon, T-Mobile and other carriers pushing ahead. Europe will also see the high-speed connectivity picking up steam.

The Indian telecom sector is in dire straights with one of the three key players Vodafone Idea publicly saying that they may have to shut shop if the government does not intervene. Introduction of 5G service may be farthest from their thoughts now.