Jagbir Singh, CTO, Vi at IMC 2021 Day 3

Network security remains a big concern in 5G services as none of the internet of things (IoT) sensors available at present are security compliant, a senior official of telecom operator Vodafone Idea said on Friday.

Vodafone Idea Chief Technology Officer Jagbir Singh, speaking at telecom industry event India Mobile Congress 2021, said none of the IoT and machine-to-machine (M2M) sensors are following security standards.

“We have 5G all around the enterprise. 5G all around IoT, M2M and all these devices. If you see today like IoT sensors, we have 8-10 million customers in Vodafone Idea. None of the sensors are actually security compliant.

“All these sensors which are there, all the M2M devices which are there, they don’t actually follow security compliances. I think 5G is going to have a big challenge on security compliances,” Singh said.

He added that the government and all operators should come together to ensure cyber security in 5G deployment.

Singh said reasonable spectrum price, sharing of fibre and one-stop solution for right of way permissions are important for successful rollout of 5G services.   Bharti Airtel Chief Technology Officer Randeep Singh Sekhon supported the views of Singh.

He also said automation will be key in 5G services along with robust lab testing and fixing issues in the services.

“The device ecosystem also has to play Indian bands. It should not be that certain bands have been left out. We need to make sure that 5G devices come with all the bands and features supported as needed for mature 5G services,” Sekhon pointed out.

Reliance Jio Group CTO Mobility, Shyam Mardikar said single window permission for physical infrastructure, electricity connection, among others, will play an important role in 5G rollout. PTI