5G | IAS GYAN

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Context

The much-awaited 5G spectrum auction will bring significant advancements for the industry and consumers, according to market watchers.

5G is the fifth generation of cellular technology. It is a new global wireless standard after 1G, 2G, 3G, and 4G networks.
5G enables a new kind of network that is designed to connect virtually everyone and everything together including machines, objects, and devices.
5G wireless technology is meant to deliver higher multi-Gbps peak data speeds, ultra low latency, more reliability, massive network capacity, increased availability, and a more uniform user experience to more users.

The government of India will conduct a spectrum auction this year, which will facilitate the roll-out of 5G mobile services by private telecom operators during the financial year 2022-23.
A scheme for design-led manufacturing will be launched to build a strong ecosystem for 5G as part of the production-linked incentive scheme – Budget 2022.

Potential Economic impact of 5G in India

Employment

The telecommunications sector in general, and 5G, in particular, is poised to enable growth and bolster employment opportunities.

Industries

5G will bring hundreds of Megabits—even Gigabits—at low latency, speeds that can potentially change the way most—if not all—industries work, today. It will bring the country up-to-speed with the West.

Innovation

5G and the slew of “interconnected” devices the technology will enable, will make the country “future-ready” and boost further innovation.
Bringing it under the PLI scheme for design-led manufacturing and build a strong ecosystem for 5G, will further boost local innovation in the domain.

Connections and Revenue potential

Global telecom industry GSMA has forecast that India will have about 70 million 5G connections by 2025.
5G is expected to create a cumulative economic impact of $1 trillion in India by 2035, according to a report by a government-appointed panel.
According to a report by Ericsson, 5G-enabled digitalisation revenue potential in India will be above $27 billion by 2026.

Mobi le market

The 5G wireless technology is a multipurpose wireless network for mobile, fixed and enterprise wireless applications. It incorporates all type of advanced features that makes it powerful and in huge demand in near future. It has a bright future and will be a revolution in the mobile market.

Banking Sector

The spectrum will provide faster and simpler payment options, which will make mobile and digital payments even more appealing to the masses and merchants alike, further boosting usage. This is key to economic growth.

Fraud prevention

Processing data, verifying the nature of transactions, confirming transaction amounts and funds availability, consulting multiple data instances in real-time, coupled with customer geo-location and merchant ID, will reduce fraud detection errors and false positives, thereby protecting consumers and the bank thereby leading to a healthy economy.

Boost to IT Sector

The IT sector will invite lucrative offers in terms of innovation, manufacturing and employment opportunities.
It will provide us the opportunity to mitigate any tech related inadequacies caused due to data speed and help us augment our product offerings by aiding comprehensive R&D in smaller pockets of the country.

Boost to rural economy

Public 5G built and operated in a decentralised manner will also help us create more jobs in rural areas.

Final Thoughts

Telecom companies have pointed out that the reserve price of the airwaves is very high.
Telecom industry body Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has also expressed concerns about the financial health of the sector amid intense competition and recent phase of consolidation.
The COAI has pointed out that 5G is overpriced by at least 30% to 40% compared to international standards and auction in other markets such as South Korea and the U.S.
5G technology has significant transformative potential for the Indian economy. To unlock that potential, the Indian government must encourage investment in the form of timely and affordable spectrum.
Widespread high-quality networks maximise access to mobile broadband services for a lower cost to users, including enterprises, which, in turn, drive a significant impact on the digital and the overall economy.

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