According to a study, 5G’s overall economic impact on India is expected to be around $1 trillion by the year 2035, making it a truly exciting proposition for Indian economy in the coming future. As part of the digital transformation symposium ‘Masters of Change,’ Accenture, in association with Network18 and MoneyControl organized a panel discussion on the topic ‘Dialling 5G for Progress’ to discuss critical developments, challenges and opportunities for the telecom sector’s digital transformation journey. The discussion featured esteemed panellists, including Mr Adarsh Nair, CEO, Airtel Digital, Chief Product Officer, Bharti Airtel; Mr Kiran Thomas, CEO, Jio Platforms Limited; Mr Anish Shah, President, Digital Platforms Information Technology, Jio Platforms; Mr Vishal Singh, Head, CSP Global Business Centre, Nokia and Mr Saurabh Kumar Sahu, MD & Lead - Communications Media and Technology, Accenture in India.
The transformative impact of 5G
Kiran shared how 4G revolutionized the way Indians connected. With 5G, this revolution will be accelerated further, using next-generation technologies, devices and smart infrastructure. Anish emphasized that 5G is making businesses rethink their existing operating models.
Adarsh seconded Kiran and highlighted that with 5G rollout, technologies like Internet of Things (IoT) and smart meters are going to be ubiquitous. 5G will also pave the way for Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) to build new digital businesses and revenue streams.
According to Vishal, 5G will raise the telecom industry’s importance in the digital economy. He also pointed out 5G's critical role in helping build a sustainable economic model across sectors by weaving technological innovations into everyday processes.
Saurabh pointed out that 5G will probably put the power of supercomputing in hands of the common man. This will usher in immersive experiences and hyper-personalization for consumers.
Enhancing customer experience through digital transformation
Adarsh pointed at some digitization initiatives Airtel has employed to improve customer experience, including speech analytics, and an omnichannel experience. He also pointed out efforts to upscale internet bandwidth across India through 5G trials.
Anish spoke about Jio's efforts to rope in customers with a digital-first approach during 4G era. He also emphasized how Jio propelled artificial intelligence (AI) bot for telecom services, a first in the Indian telecom space.
Kiran also noted, "We have to work very closely with the ecosystem to develop the right set of 5G devices and differentiated applications".
New business opportunities for telcos – how do they adopt?
Adarsh recounted initiatives Airtel has embraced, like payments, data management, and a blended consumer experience. He said, “Our experiences have come in handy to build new business models around creators’ economy”.
On how businesses have the return on investments (ROI) metric in place for 5G rollout, Saurabh shared, “For the first time with 5G, the speed of technology and the speed of innovation have actually come together." Vishal revealed that "Nokia has a 5G trained workforce ready to support Indian communication service providers (CSPs) for the 5G rollout.”.
Anish counted augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and web3 among technologies that can enable new revenue streams for businesses, and emphasized that telecom companies should become technology companies.
Anish noted he would rather not pick one technology line for the 5G rollout and risk failure. “Some new businesses are going to evolve, and existing ones disrupted."
Saurabh highlighted that domain knowledge, specialised industry expertise, the right set of devices and an accelerator environment are important for a successful 5G rollout.
Upskilling workforce and talent for 5G rollout
Kiran noted that 5G will change the way teams are organized and needs the adoption of new practices, necessitating the use of new organizational tools. Saurabh added that the right curriculum in colleges and 5G skill training can go a long way in providing meaningful employment opportunities across India.
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