New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched commercial operation of 5G mobile services at the 6th edition of India Mobile Congress (IMC) at Pragati Maidan in Delhi on Saturday.
He said that 5G is a gift to India with 130 crore population from the telecom industry. “A new era of 5G is knocking on the door of the country. It is the beginning of an infinite sky of opportunities. I congratulate every Indian for this,” said the PM.
The PM said the new India would not be just a consumer of technology, but will play an active role in the development and implementation of it. India will play a big role in designing future wireless technology, in manufacturing associated with it. “From exporting no mobile phones in 2014, we have become a mobile phone exporter worth thousands of crores. Naturally all these efforts have had an impact on the price of the device. Now we are getting more features at a lower price,” said Modi
“We focused on 4 pillars, in four directions together. First, device price; second, digital connectivity; third, data price and fourth and most importantly, ‘digital first’ thinking,” said Modi, adding that at the time of 2G, 3G, 4G, India was dependent on other countries for technology. “But with 5G, India has made new history. With 5G, India is setting the global standard in telecom technology for the first time,” he added.
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The government itself went ahead and paved the way for digital payments. It prompted citizen-centric delivery service through apps. Whether it’s about farmers, or small shopkeepers, we gave them a way to fulfill their daily needs through the app, said the PM, adding that all small businessmen, small entrepreneurs, local artists and craftsmen, are using Digital India platform to promote their businesses, trade through digital payments.
“When we talk about Digital India, some people think it is just a government scheme. But Digital India is not just a name, it is a big vision of the country’s development. The goal of this vison is to bring technology to the masses that works for people, works by connecting with people,” said the PM.
PM Modi also inspected the exhibition at Pragati Maidan. 5G technology will provide seamless coverage, high data rate, low latency, and highly reliable communications. It will increase energy efficiency, spectrum efficiency and network efficiency.
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The cumulative economic impact of 5G on India is estimated to reach USD 450 billion by 2035. Capable of supporting ultra-high-speed internet, the fifth generation or 5G service is expected to unleash new economic opportunities and societal benefits, serving as a transformational force for Indian society.
PM Modi also visited the pavilion of Reliance Jio Infocomm and experienced true 5G devices displayed there. He also spent time understanding the indigenous development of end-to-end 5G technology by a team of young Jio engineers, and how 5G can help bridge the gap between urban and rural healthcare delivery.
Also present were Union telecom minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, minister of state for telecom Devusinh Chauhan, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) chairman Mukesh Ambani and Reliance Jio Infocom Limited (RJIL) chairman Akash Ambani.
Reliance Industries on August 29 had announced that it will be investing ₹2 lakh crore on rapid roll-out of 5G. The company’s telecom arm Reliance Jio also announced the launch of Jio 5G services.
Speaking at its 45th Annual General Meeting (AGM), Mukesh Ambani had said, “To build pan-India True-5G network, Jio will invest Rs 2 lakh crore. The business case for 5G is so strong that we can achieve high-teens ROCE through a combination of mobility market share gains and SUC savings alone.”
5G to revolutionise business, lifestyle
5G is the next generation of mobile communication networks, which is supposed to offer much faster speeds and wider use cases than 4G. At its peak, internet speeds on 5G could touch 10 Gbps, compared to the 100 Mbps peak of 4G.
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5G technology offers latency as low as 1ms. For the unversed, latency is the time taken by the device to send packets of data and get a response. Shorter the latency, quicker the response.
5G technology will provide seamless coverage in remote areas across the country. It will increase energy efficiency, spectrum efficiency and network efficiency.
