Fully support idea of deploying 5G 'small cells' on electric poles: COAI

Industry body COAI on Thursday said it fully supports the idea of deploying 5G 'small cells' on electric poles.

The association noted that a key driver of effective 5G implementation is deployment of small cells which is a critical part of upgrading and expanding 4G networks.

"In line with this, the committee led by Senior DDG, Kerala LSA, and members from State Electricity Department and COAI, telecom service providers and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) provided a concrete proposal for the use of electric pole for 5G small cell deployment," SP Kochhar, director general of COAI said in a statement.

COAI emphasised that to combat the challenges of laying aerial OFC (optical fibre cable), which serves as the backbone for 'small cell towers', it is important to enable initiatives for sharing existing infrastructure.

"...we completely support the idea of deploying 5G small cells on electric poles and have provided the international best practices to the committee," Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI) said.

"With regard to the deployment of small cells over poles, we're in close contact with Department of Telecom and coordinating with OEMs to provide inputs on technical specifications, aesthetics, power requirements, backhaul requirements," it added.