5G to boost Indian economy, but commercialisation may be delayed

The 5G spectrum auction was slated to take place in July, with a commercial deployment on 15 August, India’s Independence Day

During the silver jubilee celebrations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for rapid 5G network rollouts in the country. He emphasised that it would transform lives and boost the economy by a whopping USD450 billion in the next 15 years.

“5G will not merely boost internet speeds, but will also rapidly ring in economic progress and boost job creation,” said Modi.

According to The Economic Times, he noted that the “2G era was symptomatic of frustration and policy paralysis.” Since then, the country has subsequently progressed to 3G and 4G. Today, 5G is being implemented while preparing for 6G.

He stated that India is currently linking every village in the country with optic fibre, as reported by the Business Standard, and that before 2014, not even 100 local panchayats in India had optical fiber connectivity. “Today we have made broadband connectivity reach about 175,000 gram panchayats. Hundreds of government services are reaching the villages because of this. Hundreds of government services are reaching the villages because of this,” Modi said. 

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While regulation is not limited to a specific sector, technology interconnects various sectors, requiring all regulators to come together, develop common platforms, and find solutions to improve coordination, according to Modi.

Meanwhile, the Cellular Operators of India (COAI) bluntly pointed out that 5G networks will be unviable if “captive private wireless networks” are allowed to be run by enterprises. The organisation went on to say that allowing such captive networks would compromise revenue to the point that there would eventually be no need for telecom service providers (TSPs) to roll out 5G networks.

The 5G spectrum auction was slated to take place in July, with a commercial deployment on 15 August, India’s Independence Day, Mint reports. However, it now appears that the auction will be postponed even longer because the government has yet to make a decision on the private 5G network problem involving telecom service providers and tech businesses.

The Property Report editors wrote this article. For more information, email: [email protected].