5 G technologies for India

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That Reliance Jio came out with its own 5G technology Link is highly significant for Indian manufacturing, "self-reliance", national security and affordable access to 5G for all. And Jio as a company is more than capable of cracking open the 5G market, of price-sensitive Indian consumers, with its market bursting offers. For all the reasons below other telcos must be wondering what has just hit them!!

India would like to be among the early technology adopters of 5G. But there are many hurdles. Almost all telcos apart from Jio are in losses, have hefty urgent liabilities and very large borrowings. These telcos would love to run 5G services, but they don't want risks nor to make significant investments from their side. They are lobbying Govt to sell 5G spectrum at knock-down prices to make 5G happen early and at competitive consumer prices. However, this is not likely given the legacy of the 2G scam, and the Govt's desire to not undersell public assets nor do away with open auctions. 

India does not have its own 5G technology, so domestic manufacturers will remain on the sidelines, whilst foreign rivals will only strengthen. Govt wouldn't sanction any deal that does not involve significant Make-in-India but they may subsidise manufacture in India. It will be a tussle of who garners the most benefit, the foreign suppliers or Indian companies. Foreign vendors also create security risks that have been highlighted by US intelligence.

Indian telcos have an invidious choice as there are few vendors and none is perfect. A foreign system involves a multi-year commitment and wholesale trust in a particular firm. The lock-in will make it costlier to keep up with the latest advances and it does not seem to translate into substantially lower consumer prices that currently prevail in 4G. The market uptake as such would be niche and not worthy of paying high spectrum charges.

Reliance Jio says it has, "developed everything on 5G, so we are totally self-sufficient.” It says its tech is "more scalable than other vendors" and it has its "own cloud-native platform." Put together, this gives Jio autonomy, flexibility, affordability and security. Reliance Jio says it has put forward its own system for the pre-launch 5G trials, and once successfully done, it can rapidly transition to manufacture in India via a third party. Jio can expand unhindered in sensitive areas like industrial internet of things, security and surveillance patrols by drones, and digitalising of agriculture. At the same time, it has a marketing plan for exploiting the high-end consumer market.