After 4G, the next big thing is 5G and the government is geared up to take it to the next level.

India is at the cusp of a next generation of wireless technology 5G, which has been conceived as a foundation for expanding the potential of the networked society. A digital transformation brought about through the power of connectivity is taking place in almost every industry. Therefore, the manner in which future networks will cope with massively varied demands and a business
landscape will be significantly different from today.

The economic benefits from the 5G technology are also quite immense. As per the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) Committee on Digital Economic Policy, it has been stated that 5G technologies rollout will help in

a) Increasing GDP

b) Creating employment

c) Digitizing the economy.

For India, 5G provides an opportunity for industry to reach out to global markets, and consumers to gain with the economies of scale. Worldwide countries have launched similar forums and thus, India has joined the race in 5G technologies.

The government has constituted high level 5G India 2020 forum with three secretaries of key ministries/departments - telecom, Meity and DST, and also comprising renowned experts like A. Paulraj, professor emeritus, Stanford University, US, Gururaj Deshpande - chairman of Sycamore Networks, Sandstone, US, Indian industry led by CEOs of ICT industry, Telecom Standard Development Organisation of India (TSDSI), professors from IIT Madras, IIT Mumbai, IIT Delhi, IIT Hyderabad, IISc Bengaluru, IT industry and stakeholders from industry associations.

The primary goals of the forum are to achieve:

• Early deployment of 5G in India.

• A globally competitive product development and manufacturing ecosystem targeting 50% of India market and 10% of global market over next 5 to 7 years.

The forum will complement the eco-system by focused actions in the following areas:
 

• Research Ecosystem – for IPR development, standards development and proof of concepts through research projects, PPP projects, test beds and pilot roll-outs.

• Regulatory Framework – including spectrum assignments and a start-up friendly regulatory environment to enable leap-frog and embracing of innovative technologies.

• Inclusive Business environment – with special focus on investment incentives favourable to start-ups and innovators and enablement of Venture capitalists.

The forum will constitute a number of steering committees in different domains.

A vibrant eco-system of research built around 5G that encompasses industry, government and academia will further strengthen the make and design in India initiatives to enable:
 

• Design and manufacture of 5G technologies, products and solutions in India;

• 5G start-ups that enable this design and manufacturing capabilities;

• Generation of IPR backing the above designs;

• India based companies should have some essential IPR in the 5G standard;

• Manufacture of 5G chipsets, this may require massive investments;

• Appropriate test beds and technology platforms to enable and help Indian technical ecosystem to have an edge in 5G;

• Accelerated deployment of next generation ubiquitous ultra-high broadband infrastructure with 100% coverage of 10 Gbps across urban India and 1 Gbps across rural India.