India to be fully 4G country by 2020, says Mukesh Ambani: Read full speech

The RIL chairman expects every phone in India to be a 4G-enabled one and every customer to have access to 4G connectivity by the year 2020

Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani on Thursday said India was set to become a fully 4G country by 2020, with every mobile phone in India equipped with 4G data connectivity. He was speaking at the annual Indian Mobile Congress in New Delhi.

"India has moved from 155th rank in mobile broadband penetration to being the number 1 nation in mobile data consumption in the world... in less than two years. This is the fastest transition anywhere in the world from 2G/3G to 4G. By 2020, I believe that India will be a fully 4G country and ready for 5G ahead of others. Every phone in India will be a 4G enabled phone and every customer will have access to 4G connectivity," Ambani said.

Here is the full speech of Mukesh Ambani, whose Reliance Jio Infocomm has come up in the past few years as a major disruptor in the telecom data space:

Honourable Minister Shri Ravi Shankar Prasadji, Shri Manoj Sinhaji,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

A very warm good morning.

Dear Friends,

Today, we are living in an India of unprecedented hope and promise. An India that is poised to embrace an immensely exciting future.

Just one data point...

In my lifetime, I have always been told that India has the largest number of extremely poor people in the world.

But that is NO longer the case today.

A World Bank report indicates that India will have fewer than 3% of its population living under extreme poverty by 2021.

As per a United Nations report as many as 271 million people have been liberated from the prison of poverty in the last decade alone.

This is a truly historic achievement and the credit rightly belongs to all our citizens.

Today, India is among the fastest growing large economies in the world.

This has happened due to a combination of force-multiplying factors.

Most notable among these is the visionary leadership of our Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modiji.

During the past five years... he has galvanised India.

He has launched more number of transformative initiatives... than in a comparable period anywhere in the world.

An equally important factor is the contribution of Indian entrepreneurs... especially those in the telecom, IT and digital space.

Never before has India witnessed such an explosion of entrepreneurial spirit.

India has moved from 155th rank in mobile broadband penetration to being the number 1 nation in mobile data consumption in the world... in less than two years.

This is the fastest transition anywhere in the world from 2G/3G to 4G.

By 2020, I believe that India will be a fully-4G country... and ready for 5G ahead of others.

Every phone in India will be a 4G enabled phone and every customer will have access to 4G connectivity.

At Jio, we are committed to connecting everyone and everything... everywhere... always with the highest quality and the most affordable price.

Friends,

What gives me special satisfaction is the silent revolution taking place in Rural India.

I am personally excited about the promise and prospect of bringing Digital Revolution to India's villages to agriculture and rural enterprises to women... and to marginalized communities everywhere.

I am equally excited about connecting millions of small shop keepers in India.

The Digital Connectivity Revolution can transform Rural India most comprehensively. In the past eight months alone... as many as 50 million villagers have got affordable smartphones.

For most of them, it is not only their pehla phone but also their pehla radio and music player pehla TV...

pehla camera and pehla Internet in their lives.

Imagine what this 5-in-1 means for the aspirational explosion in India. And imagine how it can transform India when it becomes 6-in-1... with Indians getting the revolutionary power of pehla Artificial Intelligence in their hands.

All this at only 100 rupees per month.

This combination of connectivity with affordability is unparalleled in the world.

I would like to acknowledge the contribution of the Government's BharatNet program in providing high-quality connectivity in some of the remotest areas of our country.

This transformation will accelerate as we get ready for a 5G world... driven by the pro-active approach of the Government.  

Today at the IMC, you can experience 5G and its various use-cases in our pavilion.

Friends,

With JioGigaFiber... We have now begun an ambitious push in fixed broadband... through Fiber-to-the-home and premise.

Jio is committed to building a deep-fibre network across the country... and ensuring that every premise is connected with the highest quality network.

All of us are proud that India has become the world's largest mobile data consuming nation.

We now have a similar opportunity to replicate this success in fixed broadband as well.

I believe India will rise from a lowly 135th rank... to be amongst the top three nations in fixed broadband... at a pace that will surprise the world.

And from day one... JioGigaFiber will offer complete fixed-mobile convergence where Indians will travel seamlessly between mobile and fixed broadband networks 4G and 5G when on the move... and Wi-Fi when indoors.

Friends,

We can together create a period of unprecedented growth, empowerment, employment and prosperity for everyone across our great nation. In a future that will be shaped by the FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION. A future founded on the robust pillars of connectivity, computing and data...

A future powered by path-breaking digital technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Blockchain, Internet of Things, Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality...

A future of exponential growth and immense opportunities for 130 crore connected Indians.

This Revolution will open the floodgates of limitless possibilities for India... and Indians... especially young Indians.

I assure you that our Industry will play the role of a catalyst in this mission of propelling our nation towards this bright future.

We have to be mindful that data is the most important resource in this new world.

And India and Indians will generate humungous amount of data.

It is important that we utilise this rich-resource for the benefit of India and Indians, with adequate safeguards.

With universal connectivity and extreme affordability, our Prime Minister's inspiring idea of EASE OF LIVING for all can now be realised.

With world-class digital infrastructure in place... India is now ready to not only embrace... but actually lead the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

This is because, each one of the 130 crore people of India... can now productively participate in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

We can solve the largest unsolved problems facing humanity... right here in India.

Let me mention only four.

First: The Fourth Industrial Revolution can realise the Prime Minister's promise of doubling the incomes of 150 million Indian farmers.

Second: It can realise the AYUSHMAN BHARAT scheme's promise of bringing healthcare to 500 million people - the largest health insurance initiative in the world.

Third: It can bring quality education to 200 million students in Indian schools and colleges.

Fourth... and not the least... it can create more jobs with the digitally-connected and AI-powered marketplace of small merchants and small enterprises - which I call NEW COMMERCE for NEW INDIA.

India will demonstrate the greatest digital transformation in people's lives in world history.

Friends,

India will be among the largest digital markets in the world.  

Every enterprise must have an 'India First' vision to participate in this market.

We will need to reinvent to grow and nurture this market to its full potential.

This will be a win-win for the entire industry... for India... and for the entire world.

To achieve this... we need a grand coalition - of everyone in the industry, government, civil society and the citizens.

I strongly believe that India will enable every citizen to realise her fullest potential... on the back of this grand coalition.

May God bless our great nation... India.

Thank you!