- India’s Leading Telecoms
Trust Jio andairtel kickstart with a limited rollout of5G services after the ₹1.5 lakh crore spectrum auction in August. - While the immediate tangible benefits of 5G include faster data speeds and lower latency, experts believe enterprises will make a significant contribution in terms of revenue.
- A new report from KPMG highlights the opportunities that 5G brings and the challenges for a successful rollout.
5G is the latest buzzword in the telecom world, especially now that spectrum auctions are over and leading telcos Reliance Jio and Airtel have launched a limited 5G rollout in select cities across the country.
The primary appeal of 5G, as far as the common person is concerned, is faster speeds. In addition, there are tangible benefits, such as lower latencies, which reduce the time it takes for your phone to connect to a server.
5G also offers better network efficiency even in very crowded places where older technologies like 4G, 3G and 2G are barely usable even for voice calls.
In addition to consumers, 5G has broader implications for telecom companies, businesses and the country’s economy.
A report from KPMG states that a 10% increase in mobile adoption increases GDP by 0.5%. And as 5G is expected to bridge the connectivity gap by providing high-speed broadband in rural areas, the report states that 5G could fuel the next wave of growth in the country.
“Low latency, improved bandwidth and large machine-type communications are expected to have a significant positive impact on businesses,” the KPMG report said.
The business case for 5G
5G entails major investment – Indian telcos placed bids worth over ₹1.5 lakh crore for spectrum alone. But beyond telcos, nearly half of Indian companies point to higher budgets for non-time-critical communications.
That’s where companies offering these services see a business opportunity – according to the report. More than 85% of service providers expect a 20% return on investment for non-time-critical communications, excluding other connected services, remote operations and more.
As for telecom companies, the 5G roadmap will initially include consumer solutions, with limited business solutions.
The second phase includes a step to offer enterprise solutions such as private 5G, and finally a move to an AI-driven internet-of-things solution where the 5G infrastructure is fully mature.
Earlier, in an interaction with https://londonbusinessblog.com/ India, COAI Director General Dr. SP Kochhar that enterprises will contribute to 70% of 5G revenue.
Here’s what telcos need to do for a successful 5G rollout
The faster the telcos build out their 5G infrastructure, the higher their return on investment will be as the 5G services enter the second and third phases of their lifecycle, the report said.
To get there, they need to make sure their network is ready and the necessary upgrades to the backend have been made.
“Network upgrades should continuously focus on building network slicing, edge AI computing models, beamforming, dynamic spectrum sharing, access technology agnostic operation of user equipment, and network analytics,” the report said.
Essentially, telcos need the right technology followed by the right marketing of services to their target audience. Not only will this help them generate new revenue streams, it will also improve their ARPUs, which are still among the lowest in the world.
Faster Fiber Deployment, Boosting Business and Affordable Access – The Government’s Recipe for 5G
The report also highlights the crucial puzzle pieces that the government must solve. This includes issuing policies that encourage increasing access to affordable services and 5G-enabled devices across the country.
Beyond this, fiber optic towers remain a critical challenge and the inclusion of public places such as bus depots, train stations, street poles and more remains important to accelerate fiber rollout.
Finally, the report also suggests that the government should boost research and development in this area by encouraging telcos and other infrastructure providers.
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