With a lot of basic things including standardization, testing among other getting settled for 5G globally, India is gradually increasing its effort for ensuring that it does not lag behind in 5G adoption. With this aim, Swedish telecom gear maker Ericsson formally launched the country’s first “Centre of Excellence (CoE) and Innovation Lab” for 5G at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi. The Centre has been unveiled in partnership with IIT Delhi and government of India and will be an open platform for academic institutes.
The newly launched 5G ‘Center of Excellence will support the government’s plans to foster a robust and vibrant 5G ecosystem in the country, said various speakers at the launch. “We want India to be an active participant in the design, development and manufacturing of 5G-based technologies, products and apps,” Communications Minister Manoj Sinha while inaugurating the centre said on Tuesday.
The government has recently set up 5G Forum and now it is in the process of identifying potential use cases for 5G in different sectors. According to Sinha sectors like health, education and disaster management, among others would be the frontrunners for 5G adoption.
Ericsson executives informed that the 5G innovation lab is an open platform and aims to help the industry and the academia to leverage the 5G technology to develop new 5G-based apps and business models. According to V. Ramgopal Rao, Director, IIT Delhi, “Any academic institutes can come and learn from here.”
“I would like to urge the industry, academia, students and start-ups to leverage the Ericsson Innovation Lab to develop new 5G-based apps and business models that could potentially lead to better agricultural yields, better healthcare, smarter cities, more efficient manufacturing and enhanced lifestyles,” Sinha said.
Addressing the gathering, Borje Ekholm, President and CEO of Ericsson said, “Ericsson is leading 5G standardization globally. The 5G Center of Excellence and Innovation Lab aims to stimulate the 5G ecosystem in India. We would like to unleash the creativity and innovation of the Indian industry, academia and entrepreneurs to fully leverage and make 5G a reality in India.”
‘We would like to unleash the creativity and innovation of the Indian industry, academia and entrepreneurs to fully leverage and make 5G a reality in India,” he stressed.
“India is a big player in data consumption. It consumes more data than any coutry in the world,” R S Sharma, the Chairman, TRAI said. As per an Ericsson report, 5G-enabled digitisation revenue potential in India will hit $27.3 billion by 2026.
The Indian operators can generate additional revenue of $13 billion if they take up roles beyond being connectivity and infrastructure providers to become service enablers and service creators, the company said. The largest opportunity will be seen, according to Ericsson, in sectors like manufacturing, energy and utilities followed by public safety and health sectors.
