Ericsson opening up new possibilities in India with 5G

Ericsson India presented today on the opening up of new possibilities in India with 5G.

Nitin Bansal, MD, India, Ericsson, said that we can expect to see 5G in India for a very long time. There are 218 live 5G networks globally. 71% of traffic today in South Korea is on 5G networks. There are 24 live standalone networks. We will achieve 35% of population coverage on 5G by 2022.

There are growing number of use cases using 5G, such as cloud gaming, AR and metaverse, fixed wireless access, NB IoT, network slicing, URSP, private networks, etc. In fact, over 65% CSP in Apac provides FWA.

Region-specific factors will impact subscription adoption patterns. There will be socio-economic impact of 5G, as well. 5G can play a key role in achieving India's digital inclusion goals. Consumers will benefit from eMBB experience and FWA. 5G will also be critical for driving Industry 4.0, considering it requires reliable and secure private networks to drive digital transformation of enterprises. As per an Omdia study, over 52% of Indian enterprises want to start using 5G over the next 12 months.

5G use cases across sectors include smart consumers, smart industry, smart logistics, smart rural, smart public services, etc. There will be smart factories, and mining, construction, energy and facilities, ports, airports, etc., also stand to benefit. Ericsson is enabling a seamless migration from 4G to 5G for CSPs in India.

Ericsson is continuing to invest in technology leadership. We have 5G mid-band, 5G indoors, cloud RAN mid-band, intelligent deployment, time-critical communications, Ericsson silicon, etc. Ericsson massive MIMO is said to be best for performing in the mid-band. 5G Ericsson radio has been customized for India.

Strong consumer 5G adoption in India

Jasmeet Sethi, Head of ConsumerLab, Ericsson, shared his perspective on the consumer market. They did a survey during April-May 2022 covering 300 million smartphone users across India. Consumer 5G adoption in India is going to be strong. Urban tech early adopters in India show an increased appetite for 5G, higher than other global markets.

There is 3X increase in 5G smartphone ownership over the past two years. 38% have a 5G-ready device and wish to upgrade. Network rollout pace will be key. There is 2-3X higher upgrade intention compared to even USA and UK, who have had 5G for some time now.

5G mobile broadband spending is expected to remain resilient. 52% 5G-ready users are expected to upgrade to higher data rate tier plan in the next 12 months. 5G network superiority is likely to emerge as the consumer loyalty driver.

5G rich media and apps are key to unlock 5G premium. The first wave of 5G users continue to expect more of 5G innovative apps. 5G-ready users are already engaging more digital services than 4G users. Use cases can uplift the 5G total premium to 45%. 10% consumers are willing to pay 10% base premium for 5G connectivity only. 35% are willing to pay additional 35% premium for bundled selected 5G services.

Use cases galore

There are top 10 use cases Indian consumers wish for on 5G plans. These include health and fitness, 360-degree livestreaming, cloud gaming, 5G TV package, virtual meeting space, immersive education, best seat experience at stadiums, interactive calling, location-based AR shopping, VR shopping, etc.

There is high interest for 5G home Internet in India. 29% of consumers find 5G FWA to be extremely relevant, and are even willing to give up existing broadband providers. 5G is also set to shape new usage behaviors. 5G will also trigger an increase in the consumption of new format video streaming and cloud gaming. AR is also expected to benefit a lot from 5G. We expect 5G to push mobile data traffic by 3-4X.

5G consumer readiness is strong, and 5G network performance will be a driver for loyalty. 5G rich media and apps are key to unlock 5G premium. There are top use cases for India. Consumers express a wish for FWA, health and wellness, gaming, to best-seat immersive experience. 5G will shape new usage behaviors.