5G to be rolled out in 13 Indian cities next year: What the next-gen tech means for India’s future

• It will enable consumers to download data-heavy and rich content like 4K movies and high-end games in just a matter of seconds

• 5G is often regarded as the backbone of the Internet of Things (IoT) revolution that involves machine-to-machine communication across a range of sectors from smart homes, to healthcare, to transport infrastructure and education

• According to a report by a government-appointed panel, the total economic impact of the technology could grow to a staggering $1 trillion by 2035

Only weeks after Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani called for the migration to Fifth Generation or 5G technology to be made a national priority, the central government has announced that high-speed 5G telecom services will be trialled in thirteen large cities – Gurugram, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Delhi, Jamnagar, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Pune and Gandhinagar – in 2022. 

With India’s three private telecom providers, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea laying the groundwork for these trials, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) confirmed on Monday that, “these metros and big cities would be the first places for launch of 5G services in the country next year.” 

What is 5G?

Simply put, it is the next generation of cellular technology that will have huge ramifications for the average mobile user. It will enable consumers to download data-heavy and rich content like 4K movies and high-end games in just a matter of seconds. Once 5G becomes completely commercialised in the countries, users will have to replace their current mobile devices for ones that can accommodate the new technology. 

5G technology operates in three frequency bands – lower frequency, mid-band frequency and high frequency – each of which come with their own advantages and limitations. Lower frequency bands enable larger coverage areas and latency periods but limit speeds to roughly 100 Mbps. As such, these bands may be more suitable for retail customers whose demands for high-speed internet are less specific than industry. 

The mid-band spectrum, providing significantly higher speeds but relatively limited coverage and signal penetration, would, in theory, be more appropriate for use in industrial networks. The high-band spectrum, it would follow then, provides the highest internet speeds of all (as high as 20 Gbps) but has very limited coverage and signal strength.

What this means for India

While being able to stream or download content hassle and error-free at unprecedented speeds will, of course, empower the Indian mobile user, the implications of the technology are much greater. 5G is often regarded as the backbone of the Internet of Things (IoT) revolution that involves machine-to-machine communication across a range of sectors from smart homes, to healthcare, to transport infrastructure and education. 

The ultra-low latency periods that characterise 5G allows for seamless, real-time transfer and analysis of data and information, opening up an abundance of use cases, especially in manufacturing. Following the successful implementation of 5G infrastructure, the technology will also pave the way for autonomous vehicles and remote surgery. 

According to a report by a government-appointed panel, the total economic impact of the technology could grow to a staggering $1 trillion by 2035. A report from Ericsson showed that revenue potential from 5G-enabled digitalisation will exceed $27 billion by 2026 itself.

As far as India’s telcos go, there’s no real alternative besides 5G adoption. Poor returns on investment have, in recent years, seen many of India’s telecom service providers fold, leaving just three private telcos accompanied by two state-run entities in MTNL and BSNL. 5G, to them, represents the only real lasting solution toward increasing their average revenue per user.