The department of telecommunication has extended the date for mandatory testing and certification of 4G and 5G products within India by one year till July next year, which would bring a sigh of relief to telecom gear makers and telcos to roll out 5G services.

Analysts said had the DoT not extended the deadline, telcos and equipment makers would have found it had to roll out 5G services from the end of this year as there are not enough third-party labs to test 4G and 5G products.

If telcos give firm orders for equipment from July after the auction, the import of equipment would get delayed by 6-12 months which would delay the rollout.

Officials said the decision to extend the deadline was taken after hectic discussions between DoT and stakeholders who had suggested an extension of the deadline or keeping the deadline in abeyance till enough third-party testing labs are available in the country.