Future of telecom: Rise of a connected and intelligent world

In the last year and a half, the telecom sector has been the backbone of all businesses and individuals. There has been a rise in demand for innovation and products in this sector as the requirement for high-speed networks have increased. The work from home scenario, too, has fortified the need for seamless connectivity.  Coupled with the awaited 5G launch, unified communication and spectrum launches, the telecom industry is set to boom in the coming years. Let us examine what are the trends, challenges and opportunities are and understand what the future looks like for this sunrise sector.

Data-driven connections
One of the biggest trends I foresee in the coming years is around building a connected and intelligent world. The emergence of devices that are not only going to be connected but will also be able to take informed decisions based on data is well underway and this trend will largely be defined by four pillars –

Connectivity: The fourth industrial revolution will be built on 5G, which will be driven by convergence of digital and physical technologies such as digital connectivity, cloud and edge-computing, IoT and smart devices, AI, robotics, Blockchain, and AR/VR.

Sensor: While more pixels and more cameras will be enhancing the quality of our pictures, smart sensors will provide more intelligence and will enable us to click the best shots. Beyond image sensors, other sensors are also catching up to mimic human capabilities.

Data: With big data on rise, storage solutions have evolved from core storage to a hybrid multi-cloud infrastructure.

AI: Artificial intelligence will be critical with movement from cloud-based AI to edge-based AI, to enable real-time decision making.

Is India ready for 5G and manufacturing?
Though 5G is set to redefine connectivity with exceptional speed, low latency and huge capacity, there is significant challenge in the rollout of 5G in the country. While the market is fertile for 5G as an entrant, there are some very real impediments in the way and the ecosystem is yet to be fully ready for 5G rollout. This includes ensuring last-mile connectivity, having affordable 5G devices and lack of regulatory bodies in India’s telecom sector.

Similarly, there are a variety of factors that has led to India emerging as one the favorite destinations for companies to design chips even though manufacturing has proved elusive. A lot of global semiconductor companies have opened R&D centers in India. Today, the country is home to some of the biggest global semiconductor R&D centers, but investments are limited to designing and VLSI (very large-scale integration). Though there have been many attempts to begin fabs, however, the country continues to remain completely dependent on imports to meet its demand for chips.

On the industry-academia front, the lack of facilities and research and innovation opportunities, in collaboration with companies, are also hobbling academic institutions as technical know-how is abundantly available however very few opportunities are there to implement the ideas.

Push towards Make in India
As far as semiconductors are concerned, though our story may not be very strong for Make in India, however, there is immense potential in the country to grow into a product design and R&D hub especially with ‘Make for India’ focus. Today, we largely contribute to products for global market and there is scope for designing and developing for local needs and partnering with local customers.

Given the presence of world’s leading semiconductors companies R&D centers in India, I strongly believe that India has the required talent and with the right policies and infrastructure. With the support from the government, we can significantly scale up to become a global product design hub. Similarly, there is a need for a stronger industry and academia connect to align both to the current trends that are shaping up the technology landscape.

Setting up incubation centers and working with academia to co-create the curriculum suitable for today’s evolving industry needs can go a long way in further strengthening the innovation story in India.

Strong growth curve
Until 2010, India wasn't a phone-making country but as digitization gained pace there was a huge shift. The government offered incentives to manufacturers to make in India and after increasing import duty on the finished product, thereby nudging handset makers to set up units in India.

The Asia-Pacific remains the largest growing producer of semiconductors, with consumption rising in countries like Japan, China, and South Korea. Further, emerging markets like India, with its highly skilled and experienced manpower and innovative tech capabilities, will play a key role in this growth.

According to a report by Strategy Analytics, 5G mobile sales were set to cross 250 million units in 2020. Gartner predicts that 5G smartphones will account for almost 30% of the market share by 2021 and jump to 71%  by 2024. With this, 5G semiconductor revenue is expected to increase from almost zero in 2018 to USD 31.5 billion in 2023, according to Accenture.

The global semiconductor industry is set to see a boom with emerging technologies such as autonomous driving, artificial intelligence, 5G and the Internet of Things. Telecom, infrastructure, and aviation are already booming industries and semiconductors will take it to the next level. That is why the Government of India’s plan of incentives sounds an important step towards securing the future.

Though it will be interesting to see who will give India its first fab, I also feel that for growing indigenous capacity, we need to have a long-term perspective of research and product development. Semiconductor companies, academia, industry bodies and startups must come together and intentionally drive this for India.

-- Balajee Sowrirajan, MD, Samsung Semiconductor India R&D (SSIR).