India is at the cusp of a digital revolution powered by increasing broadband and internet penetration, exponential data uptake, the GovernmentтАЩs focus on digitalisation and increasing trend of technology adoption across industries.
This revolution is likely to generate new growth avenues, boost industrial productivity and has the potential to transform the socio-economic fabric of the country.
What is 5G exactly?
5G is the fifth-generation mobile technology тАФ first introduced in South Korea three years ago.
It’s the next generation of mobile internet connection and offers much faster data download and upload speeds.
Through greater use of the radio spectrum it will allow far more devices to access the mobile internet at the same time.
The big improvement in speed and latency will come when service providers roll out standalone 5G networks, where both the core and radio networks use 5G tech.
How will 5G bring transformational changes technology-wise?
The 5G technology can bring affordable, superior education and skill development to ordinary Indians and deliver high-quality healthcare to rural and remote areas.
Offering low latency and data speeds about 100 times faster than 4G, the technology has the potential to enable a variety of advanced applications such as holograms, 3D avatars of people in metaverses, and telemedicine, in which near-instantaneous transmission of video and data would allow surgeons to operate remotely using a robotic scalpel.
Applications of 5G
In precision drone-based farming; high-security routers and AI-based cyber threat detection platforms; automated guided vehicles; smart ambulances; augmented reality/virtual reality /mix reality in education and skill development; sewage monitoring system; smart-agri programmes and health diagnostics.
Can enable solutions such as e-health, connected vehicles, more-immersive augmented reality and metaverse experiences, life-saving use cases, and advanced mobile cloud gaming.
Will help in connecting billions of Internet of Things devices, allow higher quality video services with mobility at high speed, and delivery of critical services such as telesurgery and autonomous cars.
Will help in real-time monitoring of disasters and in minimising the role of humans in dangerous industrial operations such as in deep mines, offshore activities etc.
Will allow tailoring of requirements for each of these different uses within the same network.
How will 5G impact the Indian economy?
The launch of 5G services by the Hon’ble PM is yet another momentous milestone in the nation’s economic journey and will facilitate both ease-of-doing-business and the ease of living.
It will revolutionise digital sector and will also augment agriculture, disaster management, healthcare, education, logistics and transport, fintech, industry4.0 and is a big push for AatmNirbhar Bharat.
The government said that the cumulative economic impact of 5G on India is expected to reach $450 billion by 2035.
Research agency OMDIA projects that with 369 million 5G subscriptions тАФ over half the total global 5G subscriptions currently тАФ India will be just behind China and the US in world rankings by 2026.
India would have ousted Japan from the third spot with 147 million customers.
5G is a generational leap that can help increase the telecom sector’s contribution to GDP to 8-9 per cent from 6.5 per cent presently.
What lies ahead
5G will progressively cover the entire country over the next couple of years.
The cumulative economic impact of 5G on India is estimated to reach USD 450 billion by 2035.
The fifth generation or 5G service is expected to unleash new economic opportunities and societal benefits.
