India is on the cusp of a telecom revolution. Are we really prepared for 5G?

While Bharti Airtel has started its Airtel 5G Plus service in eight cities, Reliance Jio has announced the launch of Jio True 5G in four major cities – Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, by Diwali. With the launch of 5G services in India, and the country preparing to transition from 4G network to 5G, it is important to evaluate whether India has created or is creating an acceptable 5G ecosystem to enable the effective and efficient implementation of 5G technology.

India is on the cusp of a telecom revolution. Are we really prepared for 5G? What should we anticipate in the upcoming years, and how can the business community better get ready to adopt the new technology? Some of the most important factors include:

Acceptable 5G ecosystem

Industry participants must work together to create an ecosystem that is capable of long-term operation in a way that benefits both service providers and customers. Each interested party, including TSPs, regulators, OEMs among others must work together in an equal authority and management paradigm.

Security

In order to counter the network security risk posed by this cutting-edge technology, TSPs require to implement sufficient security safeguards. Once more, this necessitates working together with cyber security firms to develop and implement appropriate security processes.

RAN Planning

Prior to 5G, the focus for RAN was placed on coverage, capacity, and minimizing interference. No one thought about designing the RAN to reduce latency. But in a 5G world where ultra-low latency applications and services are a driving USP, maximizing network speeds and throughput becomes inherent to the way network engineers design and plan 5G RAN.

Fibre Access

Only 30 to 40 percent of Indian population currently has fibre access. A significantly larger fibre footprint will be needed to deploy 5G services effectively because it needs a greater network reach.

Internet of Things (IoT)

IoT plays a crucial role for the future. It is anticipated that 5G would revolutionise the concept in this area with faster data transfer rates and lower latency. IoT still happens to be a very new field in India, particularly in terms of consumer awareness. Consumer awareness and education on IoT-related cyber security are crucial.

Regulatory

Finally, just as importantly, the regulator must establish a strong regulatory framework while taking into consideration the size and functional needs of the networks of the future. 5G rollout would have a significant positive impact on several industries, especially the manufacturing, banking, and electronics industries. It is essential that the market develops into a fully fledged state to take in these new innovations, adopt them, and be equipped to handle any difficulties that might have to be faced.