5G

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first 5G trial at IIT Madras. During the Silver jubilee Celebrations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority Of India (TRAI), Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that 5G is going to contribute $450 billion to the country's economy in the next one and half decades and will increase the country's employment generation and progress."

Overall median fixed download speeds in India saw a slight decrease from 48.15 Mbps in March to 48.09 Mbps in April, according to Ookla, the global leader in network intelligence and connectivity insights. However, India recorded 14.19 Mbps median mobile download speeds which is better than 13.67 Mbps in March. With this, India is now two notches up in its global ranking and is at 118th position, according to the report.

China, North America, and Western Europe were the biggest drivers of this growth. China had the highest 5G penetration in the world at 84 per cent in January. The push for 5G from Chinese telecom operators, combined with the readiness of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to supply competitively priced 5G smartphones to consumers, enabled this growth, according to Counterpoint Research.

Samsung on Tuesday unveiled its latest budget 5G smartphone, the Galaxy F23, in the Indian market. It's the first-ever Galaxy F series device to be powered by Snapdragon 750G 5G Mobile Platform and 120Hz FHD+ display. Connectivity options include 5G, 4G LTE, dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, and USB Type-C port for charging and data transfers.

To improve network performance in places with high traffic congestion, such as city centers and large sporting events, HCL's QoE application allows mobile network operators to provide seamless, fast and reliable 5G services, by using artificial intelligence (AI).

The government plans to conduct a 5G spectrum auction this year and roll out the technology for mass adoption next year. Part of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, the design-led manufacturing will enable 5G growth and offer job opportunities.

Air India was among the many international carriers such as Emirates, Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines, Lufthansa, and British Airways, which had announced suspension of flights destined for cities such as San Francisco, New York, and Chicago. There has been a spurt of flight cancellations owing to doubts and fears over 5G technology impacting the critical flight operations such as navigation and communication. Here’s an explainer as to why airlines are wary of 5G technology.

India is currently home to over 430 million mobile gamers and the number is estimated to grow to 650 million by 2025, according to latest data provided by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). As the Indian gaming market is poised to hit $3.9 billion (in value) by 2025, over 40 per cent of hardcore mobile gamers are paying for their games with an average spend of Rs 230 per month.

The number of smartphone subscriptions is expected to be 810 million at the end of 2021 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 7 per cent, reaching over 1.2 billion by 2027 in the country, according to the mobility report by Swedish telecommunication giant Ericsson. The average traffic per smartphone in the India region is the second-highest globally and is projected to grow to around 50GB per month in 2027.

Amid the super-tough competition from Chinese smartphone makers, domestic brand Lava International Limited is aiming to challenge them with its first 5G smartphone -- AGNI-- and woo Indian users. Compared to other players, the domestic smartphone company is quite late to launch a 5G smartphone. However, it still doesn't make any difference as 5G services haven't begun yet for the users in India.