India’s 5G rollout is on, but is the revolution on?

Thomas K Thomas, Chief of Bureau-Mumbai, businessline, and Prashant Singhal, EY global TMT emerging markets leader, discuss the rollout of 5G in India in this episode of the State of the Economy podcast. Singhal applauds India for its speedy 5G rollout, with a large number of base stations constructed and strong progress achieved despite the delayed spectrum auctions.

He says that 5G adoption is underway and that consumers are starting to see higher speeds and lower latency in specific regions. Singhal concedes that there is no killer app driving 5G demand at the moment, but believes that when customers become accustomed to the technology and its benefits, they will not want to go back to slower speeds. He also emphasizes the significance of creating use cases and apps that can take advantage of 5G capabilities, such as augmented reality, virtual reality, and gaming.

According to Singhal, the global revenue impact of 5G has been limited thus far, with most economies still in the early phases of 5G adoption. However, he believes that due to its low rates and vast population, India has the opportunity to reshape the 5G environment and produce revenue growth.

Singhal also addresses the market dynamics of India's telecom sector, stating that having three to four providers is advantageous for growth and competition. He says that, while different operators may have different strategies for spectrum bands, spectrum availability in India is no longer unpredictable.

He also discusses the enterprise sector's 5G opportunities, emphasizing the potential for enhanced productivity and efficiency through applications such as connected hospitals, remote surgeries, and smart manufacturing. Singhal emphasizes the need for ecosystem development as well as the requirement for applications that fully utilize 5G capabilities. He feels that India, with its large workforce and innovative capacity, has the potential to lead the development of 5G technology and generate enormous money.