How 5G will transform lives and unlock new opportunities in India

The 5G potential can truly be unlocked provided all stakeholders across industries adopt a collaborative approach.

In brief

• By enabling smart manufacturing, immersive content — AR/VR, immersive/cloud gaming— 5G has the capability to transform several industries.
• 5G is expected to create several new job opportunities in manufacturing, transport, ICT, healthcare, and retail, but upskilling and reskilling the workforce will be critical. 
• 70% of enterprises are expected to make the highest investment in 5G in the next three years as compared to other emerging technologies.

5G has the potential to change the socio-economic fabric in India and transform the society at large. Providing pan-India connectivity through Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) services could be a game changer, especially in the rural areas. 5G FWA is expected to spawn new avenues of economic growth through high-speed internet connectivity in households, improving the fixed broadband penetration significantly. 5G has the potential to address some of the basic challenges owing to lack of optimum infrastructure in sectors such as healthcare and education. 5G is likely to improve access to education and quality of virtual learning.

5G to transform a host of industries in India 

The transition to 5G will unlock new use cases and revenue streams through innovative business models. It will bolster the startup ecosystem and enable India to be an R&D hub for 5G technology and use cases. Developing 5G applications is likely to have a huge impact across industries.

In India, the engineering/advanced manufacturing segment offers the largest 5G/IoT opportunity. Multiple use cases exist in this segment with benefits of increased efficiency, productivity, better safety standards, and highly efficient production. In healthcare, 5G’s benefits can immediately be realized in home-based care and connected hospital devices as 5G facilitates real-time data transfer. For instance, a smart ambulance equipped with latest medical instruments, including HD video camera and portable MRI scanners, can help to transfer real-time data to the hospital. 5G also has the potential to open-up remote patient monitoring and diagnosis opportunities in health care in the rural areas.

The Indian M&E sector is transitioning from passive consumption to participative consumption fueled by the popularity of immersive technologies such as AR and VR, networked gaming, and interactive game shows. 5G may help accelerate this trend and completely transform the consumer experience. Also, there will be an innovation in the use of 5G for the distribution of live HD broadcast in big events, bringing alive the next generation stadium experience through in-stadium AR.

Further, the advent of 5G may significantly enhance connected car features and usher in the age of autonomous vehicles (AV) in India. It will connect vehicles-to-vehicles, roadside infrastructure, road users, and cloud services to improve transportation experience and quality of life. On the other hand, 5G’s ability to support many sensors, and real-time dissemination of information and analysis make it suitable for several smart city functionalities, ranging from smart utility services to automated traffic management. 5G significantly enhances safety and security by supporting high throughput real-time video surveillance.

5G priorities and challenges for Indian enterprises
Recently, EY surveyed Indian enterprises on their 5G priorities and challenges and found that 70% of the enterprises in India intend to make the highest investment in 5G as compared to other emerging technologies, such as quantum computing, edge computing, analytics and AI, and blockchain in the next three years. Half of the enterprises surveyed have limited clarity on 5G policy and regulations. As 5G increases the number of endpoints and use cases, the risks of cyber-attacks and data breaches are paramount for enterprises in India. At the same time, 45% of Indian enterprises would like to explore 5G’s relationship with other emerging technologies (e.g., AI). It highlights that 5G priorities underline the need for a holistic approach to emerging technology adoption. However, 39% of respondents still want to explore 5G’s impact on future business models.