5G is Here
Other than ensuring seamless connectivity, 5G can unlock the next level of growth for Indian businesses BY MANISH PANT
► TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS after internet services were launched in India, the country witnessed the roll-out of state-of-the-art 5G services on October 1. Addressing delegates at the 6th India Mobile Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said: “5G is a knock on the doors of a new era… the beginning of an infinite sky of opportunities.” To spur adoption, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister for Communications, disclosed that the government was looking to set up 100 labs. “I request the telecom industry to convert at least 12 of these 100 labs into telecom incubators to train students and do experiments,” he urged. Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea have already reiterated their commitment to the technology’s roll-out.
Predicting that 5G would accelerate growth by making India a $40-trillion economy by 2047, Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries, promised the most affordable 5G service in the world, and said that Reliance Jio would complete its roll-out to “every town, every taluka and every tehsil of the country” by December 2023. Sunil Bharti Mittal, Founder & Chairman of Bharti Enterprises, said Airtel would start offering the service countrywide by March 2024. And Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman of Aditya Birla Group, said that Vodafone Idea had been constantly upgrading infrastructure to ensure a smooth transition to 5G.
Indian telcos are expected to invest around $19.5 billion in 5G infrastructure, per a report by telecom industry think tank GSMA. Other than ensuring seamless connectivity, 5G will enable the next level of growth for businesses and industries, say experts. “Our global experience in 5G roll-outs shows that it will provide a strong impetus to socioeconomic growth and industrial development,” says Sanjay Malik, Senior VP & Head of India Market at Nokia.
Furthermore, 5G is expected to fast-track the government’s Digital India programme and realise Design in India opportunities by leveraging new and disruptive technologies. “We foresee India becoming a major hub for cutting-edge semiconductor R&D and design, and the roll-out of 5G will accelerate the next wave of digital transformation,” says Anku Jain, MD of MediaTek India, a fabless chip company. Adds Manish Vyas, CEO for Network Services at Tech Mahindra, “5G is like the last piece of the Industry 4.0 puzzle that will spearhead the next wave of digital disruption.”
Sounds exciting. But for 5G to become pervasive will take some doing. A KPMG report has recommended some prerequisites like integration with legacy networks, faster adaptability to technological changes in a multivendor ecosystem, proving return on investment and timelines, and consistency in network infrastructure.
The journey has only just begun.