IT firms hail 5G launch as game changer for digital transformation

Information technology (IT) services companies, which have been testing 5G solutions for a while, hailed the launch of the fifth generation of cellular technology on October 1 as a milestone moment that will accelerate India’s digital transformation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched 5G telephony in the country at the India Mobile Congress in New Delhi, with tech firms and telcos hailing it as a giant leap forward.

Tech Mahindra, one of the strongest players in the emerging technologies frontier, believes 5G will bring in a generational leap in network technology.

Manish Vyas, President, Communications, Media and Entertainment Business, and CEO, Network Services, Tech Mahindra said,“The 5G ecosystem will unlock immense opportunities for industries across sectors, allowing them to experiment with myriad ideas to innovate and fuel the next level of growth possibilities.”

5G is not just a generational leap in network technology but is a platform for innovation, he said.

“I often say that 5G is like the last piece of the Industry 4.0 jigsaw puzzle that will spearhead the next wave of digital disruption, taking us a step closer to realising our dream of Atmanirbhar Bharat and technological supremacy.

“We are extremely excited about 5G and would like to congratulate the government and the people of India on this momentous day that has made 5G a reality,” he added.

Sectors to benefit

As an enabler of the next wave of digitalisation, 5G will not only catalyse new opportunities for the telecom industry but also for enterprises across industries such as manufacturing, healthcare, retail, and mining among others, Saurabh Kumar Sahu, Managing Director and Lead–Communications, Media and Technology, Accenture in India, said.

“It has the potential to improve productivity, optimise service quality and reduce costs, leading to increased economic output and better consumer experiences,” he said.

Accenture is committed to helping telcos and enterprises navigate the 5G ecosystem by combining its deep industry expertise, breadth of technology capabilities and experience of enabling digital transformation at scale to meet their innovation and growth agenda, he said.

Metaverse enabler

Industry insiders are bullish on the 5G technology accelerating innovations and use of next-generation technologies such as metaverse.

Engineering services company L&T Technology Services (LTTS) counts 5G as one of its “6 big bets” and expects the evolution of more 5G-enabled test beds and cross industry use in the coming months.

“We expect the manufacturing sector and adjacent supply chains to benefit the most with multiple new use cases,” said Amit Chadha, CEO and Managing Director at L&T Technology Services (LTTS) told Moneycontrol.

The launch of 5G services in India is a milestone step and has the potential to further open up new avenues of digital engineering-enabled business proposition.

“Sectors such as transportation, media and entertainment, healthcare and telecom in particular may leapfrog into next generation technology advancements,”Chadha said. Moreover, with metaverse also creating the desired momentum, delivery of the same over a 5G network will provide an enriched experience to Indian end-users.”

5G, with its superior speed and throughput benefits combined with the latest technologies, has the potential to transform telcos into enablers of the metaverse.

Telcos enjoy the advantage of having a large subscriber base, giving them the ability to bring more people and innovative solutions to life— on the metaverse, Accenture’s Sahu said.

“To unlock the full spectrum of opportunities within the metaverse, telcos must act now by expanding beyond traditional connectivity services to new capabilities and operating models,” he said.

Metaverse generally refers to shared virtual world environments where people can interact via the internet.

Service providers like Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel made several announcements during the launch. Airtel will soon go live with the service in eight cities, including Delhi, Varanasi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. It plans to roll out 5G in several cities by March 2023 and pan India by March 2024.

Jio plans to roll out 5G services in every town, taluka and tehsil of the country by December of 2023.

Disclosure: Moneycontrol is a part of the Network18 group. Network18 is controlled by Independent Media Trust, of which Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary.