“The promise of 5G in India!”
The top trend for 2019 is widely expected to be the launch and the spread of 5G. While Verizon in the US has already started working on it, India is not very far behind. On the first day of the India Mobile Congress 2018 in Delhi, several manufacturers have already showcased their capabilities and advancements in achieving 5G in India. One of the things that can put the country in the technological lead is the introduction of 5G in India.
On Day 1, a number of exhibitors including Reliance Jio Infocomm, Intel, Nokia and Qualcomm participated in 5G trials. This was the first-time people could get a glimpse of what is to be expected from 5G in the years to come and how it can affect the scope and development of futuristic technologies. A number of discussions were pivoted around how such technologies will shape India’s digital future. The sessions showcased India’s 5G potential and the numerous unique use cases 5G will have in India. There were live 5G demonstrations by companies such as Nokia, Ericsson, Qualcomm, Reliance Jio infocomm etc.
Here is what these companies have showcased at the event for the growth of 5G in India-:
Samsung
At India Mobile Congress, Samsung announced its plan for India’s first large-scale 5G trial, scheduled to take place in the first quarter of 2019 in collaboration with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). In his keynote speech at the event, Youngky Kim, President and Head of Networks Business at Samsung Electronics, said, “Samsung will pave the way for 5G to unlock the full potential of India together with industry leaders.” “We are witnessing a rise in adoption of new technologies, inspired by ‘Digital India’ and spurred by the transition to 4G,” he said.
Nokia
Nokia’s state-of-the-art manufacturing unit in Chennai has started manufacturing 5G New Radio (NR) based on the 3GPP 5G New Radio Release 15 standard. It is the factory to start manufacturing 5G radio equipment in India. The Chennai plant is one of the largest telecom equipment manufacturing plant in the country, recently reaching the 4 million units annual production milestone of 2G, 3G and 4G units. It serves both domestic as well as global customers, shipping to over 100 countries. As part of an on-going program, known as the ‘Conscious** factory’, the Nokia Chennai plant recently implemented the first ‘real-world’ Smart Manufacturing application of Industry 4.0 in India leveraging solutions such as Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR/VR), connected Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data Analytics, and Internet of Things to enhance operations and increase productivity. The plant is equipped with cutting-edge manufacturing technologies, such as the state-of-the-art surface mounting technology, with a capacity of 12.8 billion components every year, 3D automated optical inspection and X-Ray inspection capability.
Huawei
Huawei Reiterates Commitment to Bringing 5G to India with Full Range End-to-End Technology Showcase at IMC 2018 – Conducting industry’s first 5G use case demos in partnership with Airtel, Huawei paves ROADS to a fully connected and intelligent world.
Mr. Randeep Sekhon, Chief Technology Officer, Bharti Airtel said, “Ubiquitous high-speed networks will open doors to a digital world that will be full of exciting digital innovations. Having conducted India’s first in-lab 5G test with Huawei, we are delighted to extend our partnership to demonstrate cutting edge AR and VR based use cases for 5G.”
Jio
Jio was the major reason 4G spread like wildfire in the country, and it wants itself to be the leader in 5G as well. The Jio Booth at the event showcased potential Jio devices that will use the 5G services. One of them inevitably will be the Jio Broadband. Jio also showcased its Smart Hospital Demo showcasing the power of 5G in the medical sector.
5G in India seems like it will be force to be reckoned with. But with progress happening this fast, will the manufacturers be able to keep up with the speed and launch 5G capable devices? I guess we will find that out in 2019.
