5G-adoption readiness in India twice that of the UK and the US: Report

According to the report, 59 per cent of all smartphone users in India intend to upgrade to 5G in the next 12 months and are also willing to pay a 45 per cent premium for a plan

With over 100 million smartphone users ready to upgrade to the 5G network by 2023, India's readiness to adopt the upcoming network is twice that of other markets across the globe like the UK and the US, a study revealed on Wednesday.

"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. Over the past two years, India has witnessed a three times increase in smartphone users who own a 5G handset," the Promise of 5G report released by Ericsson ConsumerLab said.

Fifty-nine per cent of all smartphone users in the country intend to upgrade to 5G in the next 12 months.

Out of these 59 per cent, "36 per cent plan to churn to the best provider of the 5G network when it is available," according to the report.

"Even as 5G will provide immersive experiences to urban customers, it will also play an important role in achieving India's digital inclusion goals, especially in bringing broadband to rural and remote homes," Nitin Bansal, head of Ericsson India and head of Network Solutions, for South-east Asia, Oceania and India, Ericsson said. 

Seven out of every ten smartphone users in India are looking forward to enhanced video streaming quality after adopting 5G.

Other services that Indian consumers want to access using the 5G telephony are health and fitness, 360-degree live video streaming, cloud gaming, 5G TV Package, virtual meeting space, immersive education, best-seat event experience, interactive calling, location-based AR shopping, and VR shopping.

The report further added that the users who expect 5G providers to innovate are also willing to pay a 45 per cent premium for a plan, given that their expectations are met.

"More innovative experiences need to be bundled to meet the expectations of early adopters to successfully monetise 5G," Jasmeet Sethi, head of Ericsson ConsumerLab, said.