Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched 5G services in select cities in India on Saturday. The move will usher in an era of ultra high-speed internet on mobile phones in the country, paving way for more economic growth opportunities.
Modi launched the service while inaugurating the 6th India Mobile Congress, in New Delhi.
"Historic day for 21st century of India. 5G technology will revolutionize the telecom sector," said PM Modi.
Launch of 5G is a gift from the telecom industry to 130 crore Indians. It is a step towards the new era in the country and is the beginning of infinite opportunities, he added.
"Digital India's success is based on mainly 4 pillars including cost of device, digital connectivity, data costs and digital first approach. We worked on all of them," said Modi.
5G will help in providing seamless coverage, high data rate, low latency, and highly reliable communications. Also, it will increase energy efficiency, spectrum efficiency and network efficiency.
"Telecom is the gateway, the foundation of Digital India. It is the mode to bring digital services to every person," said Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
"Telecom industry will further ignite digital dreams of 1.3 billion Indians and thousands of enterprises. It'll set stage for country to become 5 trillion dollar economy in next 3 years with a trillion dollar contribution," said Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of Aditya Birla Group.
Meanwhile, Mukesh Ambani, Reliance Industries Chairman said that 5G is much more than the next generation of connectivity technology. "To my mind, it's foundational technology that unlocks full potential of other 21st century technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Internet of things, Robotics, Blockchain and Metaverse," said Mukesh Ambani.
At the event, three major telecom operators of the company demonstrated one use case each in front of the Prime Minister top show the potential of 5G technology in India.
5G technology will help in connecting billions of Internet of Things devices, allow higher quality video services with mobility at high speed, and delivery of critical services such as telesurgery and autonomous cars, among others. "5G can unleash new economic opportunities and societal benefits giving it the potential for being a transformational force for Indian society. It will help the country leapfrog the traditional barriers to development, spur innovations by startups and business enterprises as well as advance the 'Digital India' vision," an official release said.
Reliance Jio, which was the top spender at this year’s 5G spectrum auctions, said in August that it will roll out its 5G services in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata by Diwali this year.
-with PTI inputs
