The big economic booster

5G can make a lot of difference but it’s time the telcos started developing India-relevant use cases in areas like agriculture and smart cities.

By Hemant Kashyap

The telecom sector will contribute nearly 8% of the GDP in coming years with India’s per user per month mobile data usage growing to an astonishing 14 GB, said P Balaji, Chief Regulatory and Corporate Affairs Officer, Vodafone Idea Limited. Speaking at the inaugural session of Voice&Data 5G Conference Balaji said that during the pandemic, the industry witnessed accelerated digital adoption. He also reiterated that the telecom sector was the lifeline of the Indian industry.

Balaji added that Vodafone Idea, per Ookla speed tests, delivered the fastest 4G in the country for the majority of the year. He said that VI’s focus remains on 4G proliferation even though the telco is participating in the ongoing 5G trials is working to deploy it.

The government needs to ensure that 5G spectrum becomes available at a reasonable price. Spectrum is the raw material on which 5G will be built on.

Highlighting the transformative nature of 5G, he further said that the fifth generation of mobile technology will connect billions of machines. He also listed some of the key use cases of the new generation of networks saying that 5G will fast-track India’s digital economy. He added that it will enable India to achieve the target of USD1 trillion digital economy as set by the NDPC, in the coming years.

VI’s 5G plan

Drawing attention to VI’s 5G venture, Balaji said that India’s third-largest telco has deployed one of the fastest dynamic spectrum refarming (DSR), massive MIMO, OpenRAN, and core and access on the cloud. He also said that the telco has deployed 5G-ready equipment on both radio and access across the country. He also pointed out that VI’s trial 5G networks are live in Gandhinagar and Pune, saying that the telco has developed the entire ecosystem to develop India-specific use cases.

Balaji highlighted Vodafone Idea’s IoT business, describing it as a strategic move. He said that 5G will be a joint, synergic exercise between large enterprises, TSPs, government, and startups.

Talking about the key for a successful 5G rollout, the telecom industry veteran said that telcos need to develop India-relevant use cases for the network in areas like agri-tech, smart cities, and so on. Second, he talked about the NDCP and the investments under the same. He said that according to the policy, the sector is to see USD100 billion investments. However, given the “financial stress”, the same has been hard to come by.

The fifth generation of mobile technology will connect billions of machines and fast track India’s digital economy, enabling it to achieve the target of USD1 trillion economy.

Vodafone Idea has also mirrored Bharti Airtel’s call to the government regarding the pricing of the 5G spectrum. Balaji said that the government needs to ensure that the 5G spectrum becomes available at a reasonable price; “spectrum will be the raw material on which 5G will be built,” he said.

The Vodafone Chief Regulatory and Corporate Affairs Officer said that the telco would also like to have the backhaul sorted via ENV spectrum sale. Interestingly, Balaji also called on widespread adoption of global 5G standards, rather than the indigenous 5Gi, which has been a bone of contention between telcos, mobile handset manufacturers, and TSDSI.

“The Indian telecom industry has been a hotbed of innovation, and as I see it, this will only accelerate as we set course for 5G,” he stated.

hemantka@cybermedia.co.in