Why Modi government wants India to go 5G in 2020
Even as telecom operators struggle to improve network connectivity and 4G services in the country, the Centre has seen it fit to go ahead and prepare India for the rollout of 5G services. To this effect, the government announced the formation of a high-level panel on September 26 to develop a roadmap for operationalising 5G telecom services in India by 2020.
Communications Minister @manojsinhabjp says govt is aiming to begin #5G tele services by year 2020.
— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) September 26, 2017
To emphasise the seriousness of the government's efforts, Union telecom minister Manoj Sinha on September 27 even announced plans of setting aside Rs 500 crore for research and development (R&D) for the latest telecom network standard.
"We missed the opportunity to participate when the standards were being set for 3G and 4G, but don’t want to miss the 5G opportunity. Now when the standards are being set for 5G across the world, India will also participate in the process be successful in launching 5G by 2020."
The amount will be divided among the telecom, electronics and IT and science and technology, reports Financial Express, while the panel includes experts like Professor Emeritus of Stanford University A Paulraj, chairman of Sycamore Networks, Gururaj Deshpande and Indian industry led by chief executive officers of ICT industry, Telecom Standard Development Organisation of India (TSDSI), professors from IIT Madras, IIT Mumbai, IIT Delhi, IIT Hyderabad, IISc Bangalore and the IT industry.
What is 5G
5G is the latest standard for telecom networks which will describe the next-generation of mobile networks beyond the 4G LTE mobile networks of today. 5G services, as of now are not commercially operational anywhere in the world, with leading mobile operators across the globe — for example, Verizon in the United States — currently testing the technology that is expected to be rolled out globally by 2020.
Though there is no set definition of 5G in place yet, with stakeholders in the process of defining standards for the technology. However, the new standard — apart from just being faster than current generation 4G networks — will promise better latency and higher bandwidth, which will allow for a higher density of broadband users without slowing down the speed.
The network will additionally also be optimised for Internet of Things (IoT), which is expected to play a major part in the coming days as the country moves towards a more digital society.
Will it be better than 4G?
The newer 5G technology would not just be substantially faster than legacy standards such as 3G and 2G, but also serve as a major upgrade on the current generation 4G networks, which have just started to make way into the country. According to the government, infrastructure that will be put in place for the newer standard will provide theoretical speeds of up to 10GBPS across urban areas and 1GBPS in rural areas of the country. In comparison, 4G networks maxes out at about 1GBPS.
For the end user, this would allow them to download a Full HD movie in a matter of seconds, and the promised lower latency on networks will result in better load times when browsing.
Why is the government pushing for 5G
The technological advancements of 5G will in part help the government make a renewed push for its "Digital India" initiative and cashless economy campaigns, which, over the past year or so, have hit many roadblocks because of the lack of adequate infrastructure.
Better connectivity and data speeds would not just enable the technologies of the future — AI, driverless cars etc — to make a timely entry into the country, but also help in breeding employment though an industry that will focus its energies towards helping design and manufacture products, and solutions needed for 5G technology. The government also expects this active involvement in setting 5G standards to eventually give the local industry a much-needed boost in the long run.
But, that's not all. The rollout of 5G technology will also make the government a lot of money from the auctioning of spectrum needed for newer technology.
However, it will be interesting to see how the telecom operators would cope with the economic burden of putting in place this latest technology. But for now, the telecom ministry has shrugged off such concerns and assured that it's keeping an eye on the financial health of the sector.
Speaking about the matter, Sinha added, "Government is aware of sector’s financial stress and when required we have intervened. And in future also, if required, we will intervene."
How prepared are the telecom operators for an ambitious 2020 rollout?
Even though India was more than 10 years late in adopting 3G technology and lagged behind in adoption of 4G standards too, the government's plan of bringing the 5G network platform to the masses — rivaling the rollout in developed economies in Europe and America — is highly ambitious, but certainly achievable.
After the entry of Reliance Jio in 2016 with a cumulative investment of more than 1.9 lakh crore, the telecom sector was woken up from its deep slumber. Since then, the other incumbents have invested heavily in a bid to counter Jio's growing presence. And this looks likely to continue in the coming years too.
For starters, state-owned telecom operator, BSNL has already contacted the government for a slice of the coveted 700Mhz radio band that went unsold during the last spectrum auction.
#BSNL has requested for a slot in the 700 MHZ bandwidth from @DoT_India to provide 4G & 5G services. @ETTelecomhttps://t.co/mdnXs0Ucnb
— Anupam Shrivastava (@CMDBSNL) August 2, 2017
Bharti Airtel has also announced plans of deploying massive Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) technology that will help it make the move to 5G networks. In a statement, Airtel has announced that, initially, it will implement the new technology in Bangalore and Kolkata, and later expand to other parts of the country.
Jio, which is based on an all-IP network and can be easily upgraded to 5G and beyond, has already announced that it will move to 5G standards shortly after the rollout.