Policies, regulatory regime need to be evolved to reap full benefits of 5G: TRAI chief
Describing 5G as a 'gamechanger', TRAI Chairman P D Vaghela says it will be widely used not only within telecom but by all other sectors, and will help bridge the urban-rural divide.
Next-generation 5G technology would have a transformational impact on industries and Indian society, placing them on an "unprecedented growth trajectory" and accordingly, policies, licensing framework, and regulatory regime need to be evolved to reap its full benefit, TRAI Chairman P D Vaghela said on Wednesday.
Describing 5G as a "gamechanger", Vaghela said it would be widely used not only within telecom but by all other sectors, and would help bridge the urban-rural divide.
"To reap its benefits, the country's policies, licensing, and regulatory environment also need to be evolved to enable 5G," said Vaghela, addressing India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2020.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) was working "whole heartedly" in this direction, Vaghela said.
New range of services
Supporting policies need to be evolved to position India as global destination for technology products, Vaghela said.
He further said 5G would usher seamless coverage, ultra-high speeds, and highly reliable communications for mission-critical applications.
"5G promises a new range of services to consumers and enterprises, beyond traditional voice and data, by enabling technologies like Internet of Things (IoT), AI, robotics, augmented reality, and virtual reality, and a host of new emerging applications," he said.
It would also bring use cases like smart cities, smart manufacturing, smart agriculture, and industrial automation, amongst others, besides encouraging spectrum and network efficiency.
"5G is likely to transform industries and Indian society, accelerating them on unprecedented growth trajectory," he said.
In another development, Reliance Jio is working with Realme and other organisations to further lower the price of 4G handsets and other connected devices, a senior company official said on Wednesday.
Sunil Dutt, Reliance Jio's president for devices and mobility, said there was a need to provide affordable devices so that people still using 2G handsets can upgrade to 4G and 5G.
Edited by Teja Lele