Government needs to act as consumer for faster 5G adoption: Report

When it comes to 5G adoption in India, the government needs to play a big role as a consumer to make it a success, a report said on Monday.

The government needs to be proactive in demand generation as in the enablement of 5G in India, said the report from market research firm techARC.

"The government has a critical role in the demand generation in case of 5G services. The initial feasible use cases are expected to come from organisations including the government," said Faisal Kawoosa, Founder and Principal Analyst, techARC.

"The government's role is equally indispensable in the demand creation as in the technology enablement," he added.

According to the report, there is as important rural applicability of 5G as in urban areas and 5G can increase the digital presence in rural India.

"Make in India" should focus beyond smartphones as a lot of 5G device types will be required other than smartphones.

"Government should not haste in 5G auctions. The ecosystem does not seem to reap from it before 2020," said the report.

"Considering the preparedness of the telecom ecosystem, the optimal use of 5G can only start after 2020, which is when the spectrum auctions should take place," said Kawoosa.

A special 5G incubation and startup programme may be launched to encourage startups develop the ecosystem for 5G, the report added.

--IANS

na/sed