In the era of intelligent connectivity, powered by 5G, new business models, based on billions of devices consuming and generating unprecedented amounts of data, will flourish like never before.
The promise of lower latency, higher bandwidth, faster speeds, and greater capacity is spearheading a new foundational architecture, not just for telecom businesses, but also for enterprises across industries. The fifth generation of cellular wireless–5G–is projected to contribute $2.2 trillion to the global economy over the next 15 years, according to a recent GSMA study.
After being pulled up by the parliamentary committee on lack of preparedness for 5G, the department of telecommunications (DoT) is likely to announce the schedule for 5G trials in the coming few days. The DoT has already undertaken a meeting with telecom operators and equipment makers regarding the trials. After hearing from the industry, telecom secretary Anshu Prakash, held a meeting with officials in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on February 16, to give an update.
The DoT has assured the telecom operators that it will soon announce the 5G trial schedule. The standing committee on information technology, chaired by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, has pulled up DoT for not doing sufficient preparatory work for launching of 5G services in India. The committee said when many countries are swiftly moving towards 5G technology, India is likely to witness its deployment only by the end of 2021 or early part of 2022, that too partially.
The trials will give an opportunity to Reliance Jio to test its locally developed 5G
Solution. The company had earlier sought approval from DoT for lab testing of its solution.
Globally, there are 118 operators in 59 countries that have deployed 5G networks. Currently, the 5G network covers around 7% of the world population and it is expected that by 2025, 20% of the world population will be covered by 5G. Countries where 5G has been launched include USA, Canada, UK, European Union nations, China, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain.
ANJALI PRIYA