India, along with its counterparts like China and Taiwan, is on a path to transform itself into a mature 5G-ready country, connecting its remotest corners so that everybody can reap the benefits of digital inclusion.
The central government of India has set mid-2020 as the tentative date for the commercial launch of 5G services, largely in line with the rest of the world. With this on-going emphasis on positioning the country as a global hub for manufacturing, the startup ecosystem is expected to revolutionize rapidly.
In comparison to developed markets, India has a higher chance of reaping great value through 5G given its potential to leapfrog countries that have previously invested heavily in physical infrastructure.
5G’s numerous advantages such as faster data transfer, lower latency, higher connection density, and deep coverage spell new business opportunities for all kinds of companies, governments, and startups.
This evolutionary growth in bandwidth will not just improve connection reliability but also provide a better use of wireless spectrum, improved connection reliability and several other advantages as listed below:
Advantages:
- The Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and augmented reality will enable automation and improve back-office operations. Incidentally, it is in these segments that startups in India are the most active.
- Healthcare, autonomous vehicles, and smart connected cities are all set to take on a transformational change with the emergence of telehealth services. In such areas, it won’t solely be the large companies providing solutions but they’ll also require contributions from startups.
- Improvised uses of existing networks, and flexibility and innovation space for new applications.
- Domestic broadband will be replaced by a plug-in device that delivers Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) anywhere in the home.
As efforts continue to bring 5G to India, we need to prepare ourselves for innovations with new applications that would not have been possible with 4G.