5G in India: What the Future Looks like for Customers and Telecom Industry

By Devesh Garg

Advancements in the telecom industry have rapidly changed global outlook and functioning. The next innovation with the potential to shift global perspectives is 5G technology. Yet to be launched in India, it is set to revolutionize not just the telecom industry but also other sectors, including education and healthcare. People in India are already aware of this, and they are keen to shift to 5G on their phones.

5G technology is also set to usher in technological progress, most notably in the case of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT). 5G itself benefits from the use of AI, especially in network traffic control. This interdependence might lead to the creation of new business and revenue models as well.

Impact on Education

The pandemic has shown us the value of virtual classrooms and the need to provide access to more people. 5G will make it easier to stream classes and exchange information worldwide. It is also predicted that a blend of 5G and AI can ensure better engagement of students and more customized help to those students who need it.

Impact on Healthcare

The healthcare industry too was massively affected by the pandemic. There was a sudden need for home and remote testing for COVID-19, for building education and awareness, and for innovative methods to reach out to as many people as possible.

The healthcare sector responded immediately and has taken this time to create new services and work on more accessible healthcare projects. Not only will it be easier to test people and store data, but the hope is to move on to AI-assisted surgeries and treatments.

Impact on the Auto Industry

With advancements in IoT, the Auto industry is already set for the future of connected and autonomous vehicles. Today, millions of vehicles connect to cellular networks for real-time navigation, connected infotainment, and emergency services.

However, new cellular networks will enable additional applications such as autonomous driving, Vehicle-2-Vehicle (V2V), Vehicle-2-Infrastructure (V2I), Vehicle-2-Network (V2N), and Vehicle-2-Pedestrian (V2P) communications. 5G’s increased throughput, reliability, availability, and lower latency will enable new safety-sensitive applications.

Impact on Agriculture and Industry

5G is expected to have a massive impact on agriculture if used correctly. With better sensors connected to phones, farmers can get real-time updates on their crop status, soil quality, crop diseases, etc. It will also lead to more precise farming, thereby enabling the best yield in crops. Through drones and AI, improvements can be made in the production of crops, bringing accountability and transparency across production levels, while ensuring better infrastructure.

5G is already used to provide wireless connections in mines in several European countries. The innovative use of 5G will offer more automation and wireless connections in industries - connecting humans

Impact on Homes

5G will completely change the look of homes and cities as we know them. It will help us move to more automated systems: smart electricity use, Smart Homes, automated grocery shopping, activities tracking, Home Safety. It can also be used to control traffic and help manage power grids for entire cities.

Gaming and Entertainment

It wouldn’t come as a shock to most people that mobile-related entertainment would be one of the immediate beneficiaries of the 5G network. 5G will provide a seamless user experience, allowing more fun and longer games with a larger global audience. Entertainment streams will also be lag-free and give a visual experience like never before.

5G Launch in India

• Infrastructure: Currently, there is a requirement of upgrading the current infrastructure to provide seamless use of 5G. Passive infrastructure providers may have to take up advancement projects to support the 5G technology rollout by MNOs. Within the broad umbrella of infrastructure, there are some key areas that shall become the bare minimum for the deployment of 5G infrastructure in India:
• Backhaul: 5G shall necessitate that it is supported with strong and reliable backhaul, which will make the case the Fiberization of Towers. With only sub 30% of Towers currently fiberized, it shall be a huge impetus on the Network Providers to fiberize their existing towers.
• Tower Densification: 5G shall also necessitate the densification of towers, which shall be required to provide a ubiquitous 5G experience across the geography
• Leaner structures: While densification of towers will be required, along with it we would expect to see the deployment of leaner towers and also those which blend seamlessly with the city architecture. Also, the existing towers may also require capacity augmentation to accommodate 5G equipment.
• Network coverage: While 5G is expected to penetrate the urban contours to start with, however in the future it shall not be limited to it. Given a vast area of India still doesn’t have access to uninterrupted mobile networks, especially in remotest areas, this may again push the MNOs to explore their offerings in such areas for a ubiquitous 5G network across.
• Consumer costs: In the past, we have seen the data prices in India decreasing by 20 times in a short span of time and have put immense financial stress on the majority of the surviving MNO. With the advent of 5G, requiring more investment from the MNOs, it will be exciting to see the recovery of the cost incurred from the consumer in terms of data usage and the willingness of the consumer to pay for such services. While 5G handsets are available at a similar cost as compared to 4G, switching costs may be there along with the cost for data services. It will be interesting to see how it pans out.

The benefit, though, is that smartphone manufacturers have been preparing for the launch for years. This preparation should make it easier to reach the maximum number of people as soon as it launches, thereby impacting the most people in a very short period. 5G will usher in a new era of the telecom industry: an exciting journey to witness.

Devesh Garg is the Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, Summit Digitel Infrastructure Private Limited