India is celebrating its 77th Independence Day today. The country is elated with the progress it has made so far under several governments and leaderships. One area where India stands out globally is the telecom sector. It is not because of the technological advancements but because of the astounding last-mile connectivity that Indians have today. While there’s a scope for major coverage improvements in the rural landscape, stay assured the work is happening as you read this.
Bharti Airtel, a leading Indian telecom operator, has reiterated its vision to connect rural India. Airtel’s CEO, Gopal Vittal, recently said that they identified 40,000 potential villages in India that can be connected to high-speed networks and also bring profits to the company. Further, to boost rural connectivity, the cabinet approved a last-mile broadband connectivity plan under the BharatNet project for 6.4 lakh villages. This project has a total outlay of Rs 1.39 lakh crore. Note that over 1.94 lakh villages have already been connected under the project.
Then there's Reliance Jio, India’s leading telecom operator, which has also made huge strides to bring network connectivity to the remotest parts of the country. The investments that Jio has made in bringing 4G connectivity to every part of the country remain unparalleled. But the next step for the sector is 5G.
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5G is Where the Future of India is
5G is where the technological advancements lie for India and the global market. The fifth-generation network technology will pave the way for businesses and governments across the world to create an ecosystem where wireless networks can power most of the tech around us.
India is working aggressively to find use cases of 5G that are relevant to the local market. Since PM Modi launched 5G at the India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2022, Jio has connected more than 6000 cities and towns with 5G. For Airtel, the numbers should be in the same ballpark.
Read More - Jio Could Soon Announce 2 New 5G Supportive Phones
But the true potential of 5G can only be achieved once it arrives in rural India as well. A major part of India is in the rural lands; however, the telcos have been afraid of going aggressive in rural areas because of low rates of return. The scenario should likely change with time. More technologies are coming to the market which is not only affordable but also very useful in generating revenues for the telcos and other businesses, which can be a boost to the telecom industry.
BSNL is Prepping to Launch Indigenous 4G Soon, Followed by 5G Later
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), often hailed as a strategic asset by the Indian government, is prepping to launch homegrown 4G soon. The state-run telco is currently conducting field tests and is in the beta rollout stage. But in the coming months, BSNL is expected to announce the roll-out of indigenous 4G.
BSNL is using technology that can be easily upgraded to 5G as well. So initially, BSNL will be offering 4G, but later, it would upgrade the networks to offer 5G NSA (non-standalone) services to customers.
