A GSMA analysis estimates that by 2025, Indian telecom providers will have spent about $19.5 billion on the creation of cutting-edge 5G infrastructure. According to the analysis, 5G may help India’s economy by $455 billion between 2023 and 2040, or more than 0.6% of the GDP projected for that year. This is due to the numerous 5G use cases that might be deployed in the country’s key economic sectors.
“5G benefits are expected to be realised in new applications in the manufacturing sector (representing 20 per cent of the total benefit) as well as the retail, ICT and agricultural sectors,” the findings showed.
To facilitate 5G rollouts, the Indian government has allocated two carriers in the E-band with a bandwidth of 250 MHz each. However, given the need for high-capacity backhaul to support use cases and increased data traffic in the 5G era, this may not be sufficient.
“Clear policy guidelines on the allocation of backhaul spectrum arenecessary,” the report said.
In the nation’s manufacturing, energy and utilities, finance, transportation, healthcare, sports, and retail industries, 5G will be a crucial enabler of enterprise digital transformation processes.
“The consumer and enterprise segments both present significant opportunities for 5G services in India. However, further reforms are required to support the development of advanced telecom infrastructure is a fundamental driver for a digital society,” said the report titled ‘India: on the road to a digital nation’.
There is still a significant digital divide in India, and the biggest obstacle keeping vast segments of the people from taking advantage of the social and economic advantages the digital economy may offer them is still a lack of literacy and skills.
“Given the importance of 5G to India’s digital future, it has become critical for the government and the mobile industry to collectively evolve and ensure the sustainable growth of the mobile industry,” the GSMA report mentioned.
Bharti Airtel will begin the rollout of 5G within a month, while Reliance Jio plans to provide standalone 5G services by Diwali, which falls on October 24, in a few locations throughout the nation.
According to Ashwini Vaishnaw, the minister of state for information technology, 5G services would likely start to be offered in October.
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