“It’s time for the shift from 4G to 5G”

Time is just right for the government to support the industry meet Digital India’s ever-increasing quest for higher speed – the 5G

By Hemant Kashyap

In his keynote address at the 3rd edition of Voice&Data 5G Conference, Bharti Enterprises Vice-Chairman Akhil Gupta said that it is a major evolution in the ever-increasing quest for higher speed by the customers. He added that everyone has to double up on 5G.

Gupta addressed the question of whether there were enough use cases in the Indian scenario for deploying 5G. He mentioned two of the most important use cases for 5G that already exist. “First, the mobile phones,” he said, “and it’s time for the shift from 4G to 5G to start happening.”

The ball is in government’s court; if 5G is to be a mass market phenomenon, it needs to look at the quantity and pricing of the spectrum.

Secondly, he referred to the NDPC, saying that 5G will enable the mission to provide broadband to everyone. He said while it was “virtually impossible” to provide wireline connectivity across the country, wireless remains the only possible solution. He said that India needs 5G to provide connectivity to every nook and corner of the country.

Then he also addressed the deployment strategy for 5G in the country; whether telcos should limit it to cities or should it be a mass-market thing. He said that 5G will have to be a mass market.

He listed out three pre-requisites for that to happen: coverage, affordability, and infrastructure. Referring to NDPC, he said that the government’s aim was to spread connectivity with 5G, rather than increase revenues. He called on the government to provide at least 100 MHz of the spectrum and recommended that the floor price of the spectrum should be at a low level.

The Bharti vice-chairman said that the ball is in the government’s court now; if 5G is to be a mass-market phenomenon, the government needs to look at the quantity and pricing of the spectrum. He further added that government should introduce “stringent rollout obligations” in order to avoid spectrum hoarding.

Referring to the recent TRAI recommendations on broadband and Satcom, Gupta expressed the hope that DoT and states will implement the same. He said that for quick infrastructure deployment, these recommendations and their implementation is key; the infrastructure can become a bottleneck, and telcos would seek to avoid the same, he added.

Financial health is a major concern

Gupta added that the success of 5G depends solely depends on the financial health of the telecom industry. Talking about the much-awaited telecom relief package, he expressed hope that the cabinet will approve of the same. Notably, this came at a time when the DoT is about to present the same at a cabinet meeting, most likely today. He said that the sector’s financial health is vital to keep industry players investing in Capex and Opex for 5G.

He also addressed the “unsustainable” tariffs in the country. He said that since operators can’t do the same on their own, government needs to introduce floor pricing. He said the floor pricing can be for a limited time, till the industry stabilizes.

Since operators can’t do it on their own, the government needs to introduce floor pricing, which can be for a limited time, till the industry stabilizes.

Gupta called the telecom sector the “backbone” of all technological development in the country, “and therefore, this (telecom relief package) cannot wait for more,” he concluded.

hemantka@cybermedia.co.in