Time is Right for 5G – Akhil Gupta, Vice Chairman, Bharti Enterprises

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

5G for Everyone, at Affordable Prices

Gupta addressed the question 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, “the time has come when the shift from 4G to 5G has to start happening”.

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 as a country “which needs to bring 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 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 spectrum, and that the floor price of the spectrum 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, 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.

Telecom Sector’s Financial Health 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 capex and opex for new networks.

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 a floor pricing. He said the floor pricing can be for a limited time, till the industry stabilizes.

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