India’s digital transformation and connectivity were taken to newer heights recently as the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, on October 1, 2022, launched the 5G services in the country. Besides this, he also unveiled use cases of various Telecom Service Providers in Education, Health, worker safety, smart agriculture etc. Services like the indigenous 5G NSA Core developed by Centre for Development of Telematics (CDoT) and other technology demonstrations of enterprise 5G solutions, chipsets, networking equipment developed by Indian telecom start-ups, MSMEs and large manufacturers were also launched at the event earlier.
Officials from the tech industry and the ministry have called this event a milestone which will unlock huge possibilities for India and pave the way to bring transformation in crucial areas. As per reports, several companies have collaborated with the government to improve services in sectors like agriculture, health, education, Transport, logistics, smart cities, etc.
Adding more, the officials from the ministry informed that the 5G technology will bolster and propel India’s position as an economic and tech powerhouse globally and will provide new opportunities for start-ups to come up with innovative solutions to solve existing challenges, create jobs and contribute to India's economic resilience.
Four pillars of Digital India have been identified by the government which will play a cruicial role in the implementation of 5G services in India. These include the cost of devices, digital connectivity, cost of data and idea of digital first.
As per reports, officials believe that the cost of the devices can be reduced significantly with increasing manufacturing units in India. As of now, the country is at second position in the world for manufacturing of mobile and is also a large exporter of mobiles. Meanwhile, on the connectivity front, India has made a significant progress; whereby over 1.7 lakh GPs in the country are connected with OFC. With this, the internet users have also spread across the rural areas of the country.
Furthermore, with the availability of low cost data, the consumption pattern has also seen a drastic change. As of now, one mobile phone user uses approximately 14 GB data per month and if the cost is further reduced for the data, one might see considerable savings per month. Lastly, the misconception of rural poor of India not being able to adopt the digital technology has shattered as citizens, particularly the rural locations, are fast adopting the digital technologies and internet in their daily lives.
Today, digital India has provided a stage and market to the people of the country thereby helping them showcase their products and reach new markets. With a vision to provide the electricity, water and cooking gas to every household in the country, the Government has now committed to provide Internet to all and hence provided policy support for 4G saturation to all villages. Over the next few years, the government will also make a number of policy and regulatory changes to bring transparency and reduce uncertainty in the Telecom sector.
The 5G services in India were launched at the inaugural ceremony of IMC 2022, jointly organized by the Department of Telecommunications and Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI). Officials believe that with the induction of 5G technology, India’s digital infrastructure will become resilient and unravel huge socio-economic benefits.
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