Podcast | Deep dive: 5G technology in India

5G, the next big milestone in telecom technology, is just around the corner. Yep, even in India. 5G has been in trials for a while now and has been covered pretty widely. I recall a tiff between two companies that showed off a 5g enabled bus and a 5g-enabled self-driven car, respectively, at the South Korea winter Olympics in February of this year.

Wait, why are we talking about 5g? We can barely get a decent 4g connection in our cities and get just about passable 3g coverage outside the cities. We know our phones show 4g when we’re traveling in trains but the real speeds are clearly less than actual 4g. And let’s not even dwell on the connectivity inside our homes. 

Some days, we are lucky to not spot the dreaded ‘E’ next to the antenna symbol. Well, in spite of all this, believe it or not, the central government is keen on 5g. As Investopedia noted in an article on 5g, “Countries that want to stay competitive in the global economy are adopting 5G technology... technology affects nearly all aspects of life, (and) countries need to stay current with technological developments to improve the lives of their citizens and continue evolving...”

The countries most ready to adopt 5g are, of course, the major industralised economies like Japan, the US, Taiwan, South Korea, Sweden, and, you better believe it, China and Turkey.

That said, preparations for the next-generation wireless technology have already begun in India. Tech company Ericsson launched India’s first 5G innovation and hub centre at IIT Delhi this month. Communications Minister Manoj Sinha said, "India cannot afford to miss the 5G bus. It is of strategic importance to us.”

The centre is focused on developing 5G technology for the telecom industry, academics, and is in the process of identifying other potential use cases in sectors like health and disaster management which have emerged as frontrunners for 5G adoption.

A report by the company Ericsson claims 5G-enabled digitisation revenue potential in India will hit $27.3 billion by 2026. Borje Ekholm, president and CEO of Ericsson, says India is important not just because of the market size, but also because of the demand for technology. He also claims India will be the market that leads into 5G.