Telcos’ financial state may delay 5G: Industry Execs

NEW DELHI: India’s 5G rollout may take longer than expected given the poor sectoral health and the unpredictability of monetisation of the next generation technology, said senior industry executives. Moderating a panel discussion at India Mobile Congress on Tuesday, Prashant Singhal, emerging markets TMT leader at EY, highlighted the importance of investment in building infrastructure, an important factor that could help India achieve its goal of growing to a $5-trillion economy in next five years.

“In India we have to specifically figure out the use cases for 5G. If we look at devices, below $1,000 (about Rs 71,000) 5G devices don’t exist. Also, it is not clear yet how 5G will affect people in India,” said Vodafone Idea managing director Ravinder Takkar.