Countdown to a new tomorrow: PM Modi to launch 5G services on October 1

Ahead of the launch of 5G services in the country on October 1, businesses across the telecom and tech industries are busy brainstorming on how to deploy, innovate and monetize this next leap in digital communications technology.

The venue for these businesses to meet and decide on how to approach the vast Indian market currently at a digital tipping point will be the sixth India Mobile Congress (IMC)—a mega telecom summit—starting October 1 in New Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to flag off the much-awaited 5G services at the summit, where top executives of the telecom industry could offer a glimpse into their plans, including tariffs.  

Touted as the largest telecom, media, and technology forum in Asia, the four-day long IMC is jointly organised by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI). 

"The key descriptor of IMC is that it is also the biggest networking event in India in the technology space. For a sector as diverse as tech, in a country as diverse as India, the importance of having small startups and global telephony giants in the same room can't be understated," a senior functionary of COAI said. 

The IMC will be the first major international trade show at Delhi's iconic Pragati maidan exhibition Ground which was recently revamped at a cost of Rs 2,150 crore by the Centre. On day one of the summit, the government will officially launch 5G in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, and Bengaluru, along with eight other cities. 

Apart from the Prime Minister, the two most important men in India's 5G landscape--Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries Ltd, and Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman of Bharti Enterprises--will also be watched keenly at the event.

Ambani's Jio and Mittal's Airtel jointly command more than 65 per cent market share among the 1.17 billion mobile phone subscribers in India as of August 2022.

Ahead of the event, global majors like mobile manufacturer Nokia have said they are keen to demonstrate a wide array of exciting business, industrial and societal applications enabled by the 5G network at IMC. Others such as information technology leader Cisco want to showcase their  plans to raise revenues for telecommunication companies.

Betting on 5G

In a country which has often leapfrogged across multiple stages of digital development over a short period, 5G is widely expected to rapidly scale up once introduced. The pace would be similar to that of digital innovations currently commonplace in India, said an analyst. Think OTT platforms, internet- based calls and video communication such as Zoom or Google Meet, which reached a different level altogether during the pandemic.

The vast set of possible applications of 5G has fired the imagination of all key groups: from policy planners who want to use the technology to finally connect rural citizens in remote parts of the country untouched by the internet to businesses targeting enterprises in diverse areas. 

The Indian economy is expected to rake in $455 billion between 2023 and 2040 as a direct result of 5G, according to the GSM Association (GSMA), the global industry association representing over 750 mobile network operators. According to GSMA's estimates, the share of 2G and 3G services in India is expected to rapidly reduce to around 10 per cent or lower by 2030 whereas 5G services will account for one-third of the connections.

More than 100 million users with 5G-ready smartphones wish to upgrade to a 5G subscription in 2023 while a majority of them are open to adopting a higher data-tiered plan in the next 12 months, a recent report by Ericsson Consumer Lab showed. The intention to upgrade to 5G in urban India is two times higher than their counterparts in markets like the UK and US where 5G has already been launched, the report said.

A recent report by EY said 45 per cent of enterprises want to explore 5G’s relationship with other emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, followed by 39 per cent who want to explore 5G’s impact on future business models.