The high-frequency 5g network rollout roadmap will ensure seamless & fastest connectivity for Indian users. The rollout of 5G technology in India is crucial for rapid growth and development due to its ability to overcome data constraints and give limitless bandwidth to users with reduced latency times.
5g network rollout roadmap guides telcos to participate in the right direction in the spectrum auction and launch planning.
This year’s AGM chairman of Reliance Industry Mr. Mukesh Ambani has given a clear road map for India’s 5g rollout. Reliance Jio has made themselves the highest bidder in the 5g spectrum auction and bought 50% of the 5g spectrum at a cost of 88,078 crores.
Jio has also been in talks in partnership with Google for affordable truly 5g mobile devices which will be manufactured in India for Indian customers. This will boost more active 5g active users after roll-out.
The company will invest 2 Lakh crore to set up affordable 5g services for 140 crore Indian users. Presently in India, there are 750 million active smartphone users and this number can go up to 1.5 billion by 2026.
Also, Jio will launch its new hotspot devices which also provide gigabyte speed and JioAirFibre also made connectivity on the wireless mode. With this device, customers will enjoy fiber-like speed.
Now coming to Airtel they are also partnering with Ericsson, Nokia and Samsung Airtel will roll out a 5g network by the end of August. Airtel is already partnering with Ericsson & Nokia for connectivity infrastructure and Now they have partnered with Samsung can majorly give an advantage to Airtel.
They will be more focused on ultra-high speeds & fastest data transmission feature giving users a superior experience.
Airtel has already tested its 5g network bandwidth in Hyderabad over a 4G network and it has successfully demonstrated its high-speed capability. They have also created a synergy with the Airtel ecosystem and helped their partners to adopt quick and hassle-free transitions.
Airtel will invest 1.17 lakh crore in the next five years in Nextra a subsidiary data center, Indus Tower & Bharti Hexacom for the expansion of their mobile tower.
Apart from this investment, Airtel is planning to sell its 1.28% stake to Google for a $700million investment and it can go up to 1Billion. Within this investment, $700million will be in equity, and the rest $300million will be for future multiyear investments.
India’s third largest telco Vi is yet to announce its 5g launch date. But, they are eying 16 circles in India but to start with they will cater to 4 metro cities like Jio.
Also, the report says they will probably start the service with Delhi, Mumbai & Bengaluru as these are all major hubs in India.
Vi spent 18,799 crores for buying the spectrum which is the last payment made by any telco in the Spectrum auction. Jio majorly holds 700MHz bandwidth which gives stable service and after that Airtel invested in 900MHz and other airwaves. Vi has opted 1800MHz, 2500MHz, etc.
Vi has upgraded the existing 4G network into 5g architecture. In the AGM Vi is waiting for the spectrum to be finalized and they can roll it out immediately.
Nothing much from BSNL as they initially said that they will prepare the 5g corridor in 2019 but since then no update has been made by the company.
5g network rollout will be this year but everyone is more concerned about the tariff and the device availability.
From the Government sources, there will not be many hikes on the 5g tariffs, and could be the same as what we getting in the 4G service.
We can see a price war between these three telcos. The availability of 5g devices and tariffs make this contest interesting.
Aatmanirbhar push by prime minister Narendra Modi has encouraged local device manufacturers to build homegrown devices to support the 5g launch in India. Smartphone manufacturers have already started pouring 5g phones into the market.
Every top smartphone manufacturer has already introduced 5g devices and the minimum cost has started from Rs. 12,000/- to Rs. 1.2Lakh. So options are there for users waiting for 5g to start in India.
Local players have also started manufacturing 5g phones here in India and that can also be seen in the market very soon. So device options will be available in a bigger manner in the coming months or years.
Jio will be coming to its cheapest smartphone devices which will cost somewhere between 9K – 12K (approx. $120-$160) which will help the customers to switch his/her device.
India’s home-grown 5g network rollout roadmap will impact China and it will be a major victory for the Indian domestic industry.
After the 2020 Galwan clash with the Chinese force, India has ignored key telecom equipment OEMs like ZTE, and Huawei and asked all providers to focus on indigenous and friendly OEMs (original equipment manufacturers). Local players in the telecom sector were also looking for a homegrown 5g network rollout strategy.
In this context Reliance Jio started its own platform to launch 5g in India. Not only in India they planning to enter in US & European markets. This will be a major push towards Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
Chinese 5g network companies like Huawei & ZTE was the largest supplier of telecom equipment to India as well as western countries. The government banned both companies to participate in the 5g rollout in India ask local telcos to partner with companies like Ericson, Nokia & Samsung and incorporate local vendors’ suppliers to full fill the gap.
Previously brands like Huawei is having a 20% Indian market share in the 4g network and due to security concerns, this has drastically fallen and now in the 5g rollout, they are not the listed one.
Huawei & ZTE combined hold 87% Indian market share.
Bharti Airtel has already replaced ZTE & Huawei from its existing setup and tied up with Ericson, Nokia & Samsung. The same has also been done for Jio & Vi.
This barring is impacting Chinese firms by almost 2.5 billion dollars and is good for Indian companies to grow within the country but outside of the country.
Indian service providers have already finalized 5g companies like Nokia, Ericson, and Samsung for their 5g network backbone and local players have already incorporated in the mega 5g launch that will be by September 2022 in India by Bharti Airtel and Jio and Vi will be in October 2022 during the festival.
Exceptional 5g market size that is projected for the Indian market.
As per data, India has the biggest number of telecom users after China in the world having 1.5 billion users. Within that almost 750 million smartphone users. China is close to 800 million smartphone users and the United States approx 601 million users.
We will be experiencing approx 1.4 billion 5g users by 2025 and this figure will further expand. 5g will hold a 15% global market share by this time. India will have a 5% 5g market share and the USA will have almost half of its smartphone users and China will have a 30% 5g market share by 2025.
So 5g will be a big opportunity for Indian telecom players to experience a major surge. It will give lower latency with seamless connectivity and a high amount of package transmitting helping various industries to focus on IoT (Internet of things) which will be based on a 5g network.
5g IoT application will be the next communication platform for domestic, commercial, and defense industries.
South Korea experienced the first 5g network launch in the world in 2021 and after that China and USA, both launched in a few of their cities.
It is the 5th generation cellular technology providing 20gbps speed that will boost industrial requirements such as AI-driven devices, cars, road assistance, defense technology, and many more.
5g network can provide high-accuracy real-time data for any industry. It will be the best assist to road conditions, traffic, and many other parameters.
It will ease mobile computing, big data analysis, and industrial commodities.
The rollout of 5g can deal with a new level of applications such as drones, appliances, vehicles, and robotics due to its low latency and high data transmission frequency.
Conclusion –
Though we will be experiencing a huge 5g launch in India by October 2022 availability of devices at lower cost can help service providers to gain the market share.
Tariff point of view hoping it will be at par with a 4g tariff that can be affordable for users. Wireless technology will give a major push to communication in a faster and more secure way.
5g rollout will be the game changer for all sectors as we have already covered in the above and IoT (Internet of Things) applications AI technology, robotics, and real-time connectivity with lower latency gives a user a premium experience.
India has worked out many challenges before launching its first 5g network with an indigenous build network that can be very robust and secure.
Many global friendly companies have already tied up with service providers to test and are ready to launch the network for 1.4 billion people on the festive occasion.
Wiping out Chinese companies and establishing a make-in-India 5g network rollout roadmap ensures a big step towards Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
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