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Emergence of 5G Communications in India

Catching up with wireless network generations has apparently not been an easy ballgame for India. Being introduced to 2G years after its global launch, 3g after 10 years and 4G after 5 years, Indian Inc. hope to be in time for 5G network which is expected to be launched in the early 2020’s.

In our previous article, we established the importance of mobile network in increasing business productivity. Here, we will understand how evolving technology and stronger network generations would connect devices and make Internet of Things a living possibility.

Before we move on further and discuss more about 5G technology, its features and launch of 5G in India, let us first develop a basic understanding of cellular wireless Generations (G) and how many (so far) exist.

Types of Cellular Wireless Generations (G)

The world has seen 4 wireless technologies so far starting with 1G launched in 1979. This was followed by 2G in 1990’s and 3G in the year 2000. The last one is fourth generation technology (4G) which got introduced to the world in 2010 and reached India in 2015.

Each generation differs in nature of speed, technology, system and frequency. 4G, which finds most widespread usage in current times, offers an average speed of 100 MBPS while moving and 1GBPS while stationary.

Since technology is ever-evolving, each generation replaced the previous one and it would not be long before that 5G wireless technology shall replace the current generation.

Emergence of 5G Communications in India – Expert Views

While attending an inauguration ceremony of first edition of ‘Internet of Things India Congress’, Telecom Secretary J S Deepak said that India is most likely to get 5G technology along with the rest of the world. Also pointing out to the fact that time gap between a technology making its way to India and rest of the world has been constantly reducing since 1G to 4G, he explained that chances are bright that this time (when 5G shall be globally launched) India shall not miss the boat.

Since India is entering into the era of ‘Internet of Things (IoT), it has become even more important for us to constantly upgrade our wireless technology and catch up with 5G standards as soon as it is launched. JS Deepak pointed out that more than 50 billion devices and machines shall be connected in India over the next 5 to 6 years. This will create an unfathomable business opportunity in India valuing over USD 15 billion. 5G technology is capable of supporting multiple devices at once and delivers speed above 1 gigabit per second, several times more than what 4G network currently delivers.
Emergence of 5G communications in India

A research team has been set up by Govt. of India to work on 5G technology. The team has filed 100 patents so far of which 10 have been granted. These patents are expected to be greatly advantageous to Indian industry. Union Minister of electronics and IT Ravi Shankar Prasad said that advanced simulators and prototypes shall also be developed by the research team and the IP developed in 5G project in India shall make contribution towards global 5G standardization.

Simultaneous patents are being filed by India and United States for 5G. Besides government participation, private players like Reliance Jio, Tata Teleservices and Tejas Networks and many other start-up firms are participating widely (by lending their manpower and equipment’s) in India’s effort to contribute to 5G network on a global front. The research team comprises of revered scientists and professionals from IIT Hyderabad, IIT Mumbai, IIT Chennai, CEWiT (Centre of Excellence in Wireless Technology, IIT Madras) and IISc Bangalore.

A minister in the Ministry of Electronics said that the research work in India is targeted at generating our own IP leading Indian telecom device manufacturing industry towards a boom. Universally, one fifth cost of any telecom device that we purchase is paid off as royalty to the patent holder. This means that if India holds such patent, it shall be able to control cost of telecom device manufactured in-house which would be a great incentive for the manufacturers.

What is 5G?

5G is the fifth generation technology in wireless network communications which is expected to take over the world starting 2020.  5G network apparently would not follow any unified global standards and a mix of more than one standard shall be seen operating under the 5G umbrella when it shall be launched.

As per Huawei, the Chinese mobile corporation, 5G technology is expected to deliver a speed 100 times faster than the fastest prevailing 4G LTE standards. However, the emergence of 5G is not just about speed. Instead, it is meant to connect millions of devices and machines to the internet in years to come. Few examples include home appliances and driverless cars.

5G: A preferred generation over 4G. Why?

We all keep speaking of evolution of technology but how many of us actually understand why 5G is a better technology than the globally adopted 4G LTE standards? Take a look.

The speed of course is a key factor. With the kind of speed 5G would offer, both businesses and consumers would benefit. The former through seamless use of internet for video-conferencing, sending corporate communications and other such activities while the later would enjoy a crazy speed on their mobiles which would let them download anything in a second (which might now keep them waiting for few minutes). Besides speed limitation, 4G also limits data packs. This means that a user can only access data up to a certain limit beyond which he either has to purchase a fresh data pack or stop using internet. With 5G, it would be another story as network providers shall offer up to 1000 times more data in a data pack.
5G: A preferred generation over 4G
Another benefit is that 5G shall reduce latency by far (less than 1 millisecond) as compared to 4G networks. This means that you shall be able to see the video as soon as you hit the ‘play’ button instead of having to wait and see it buffer. With latency going down, user experience while operating automated equipment, playing a video game or exploring the IoT arena shall improve miraculously.

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