Which communication technology is on the radar?
5G is the fifth generation of mobile broadband technology that will eventually replace, or at least augment,
the existing 4G LTE connection. With 5G, people will experience exponentially faster download and
upload speeds. The time taken by devices (Latency) to communicate with each other over a wireless
network will also drastically decrease. It will be able to handle a thousand times more traffic than today's
system and would be 10x faster than 4G LTE.
5G is needed because:
There is relentless growth in the usage of mobile data all over the world, primarily due to
immersive entertainment. There are 4.39 billion internet users in 2019, an increase of 366 million
(9 percent) versus January 2018.
IOT is also gaining momentum at lightning speed and millions of "things" are also expected to be
added to the network over the due course of time
Due to Smart Cities which will highly rely on connectivity among the devices
5G in Global Context
5G is the catalyst that is soon going to boost mobile technologies. Implementation of 5G has increased
productivity and enhanced economic activities globally. Realizing the potential of 5G, several operators
are investing in this technology.
United States:
T-Mobile invested
in 5G networks with a multi-year deal of USD 3.5 billion with Nokia with a
complete suite of equipment and services to start deployments in 2019
Sprint
launched 5G services on mobile devices on its 2.5 GHz spectrum at the beginning of 2019
China:
China Mobile
has started conducting trials for 5G in many cities and will start the usage of 5G
pre-commercially by the year 2019 before its commercial launch by 2020 with an expected ~
10,000 5G base stations across locations
South Korea:
SK Telecom
acquired spectrum in the 3.5 GHz and 28 GHz frequencies for coverage and
hotspot based capacity
United Kingdom:
Vodafone shall be using frequencies in its 3.4 GHz band for 5G trial across seven cities in the UK
and is expected to commercially launch in the year 2020.
Is India 5G ready?
India is not a big gun in technology development or manufacture of telecommunication
equipment. 5G is also likely to depend upon either technology imports or equipment made by
foreign vendors in India, like its predecessor technologies.
Despite being home to over one billion mobile subscribers, the Average Revenue Per User
(ARPU) for telecom service providers in India has reduced from INR 123 in 2015 to INR 69 at the
end of 2018.
The industry has a cumulative debt of 7.7 trillion and revenues under INR 2.5 trillion
Close to 30 percent of their revenue goes to the Government in taxes and levies.
As a result of falling ARPU, mounting losses, increasing debt and declining revenues, the telecom
industry is facing severe financial distress.
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- Summer '19
