Why in News?

• The Covid-19 pandemic has transformed the way we work and live.  With social distancing being the norm, dependence on telecom and internet infrastructure has become a necessity.
• It is an opportune time for policymakers, regulators and service providers to lead massive deployment of 5G.

What is 5G Technology?

• It is the next generation cellular technology that will provide faster and more reliable communication with ultra-low latency.
• Latency is the amount of time data takes to travel between its source and destination.
• A government panel report points out that with 5G, the peak network data speeds are expected to be in the range of 2-20 Gigabit per second (Gbps).
• This is in contrast to 4G link speeds in averaging 6-7 Megabit per second (Mbps) in India as compared to 25 Mbps in advanced countries.
• In a recent report, McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) has estimated an increase in global GDP by about $2 trillion through the use of 5G in key sectors such as healthcare, retail, mobility and manufacturing.

 Applications of 5G:

• 5G will be implementation in sensor-embedded network that will allow real time relay of information across fields such as manufacturing, consumer durables and agriculture.
• 5G can also help make transport infrastructure more efficient by making it smart.
• 5G will enable vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication, making driverless cars, among other things, a reality.

Besides 5G will be used in:

• Integrated command centres for fleet management
• AI-enabled predictive healthcare
• Automated guided vehicles in manufacturing
• Personalised retail store experience
• Continuous monitoring and effective utilisation of energy
• Stringent measurement and proactive management of pollution levels

What Government Needs to be Done?

• The 5G systems also must comply with varied regulations including data privacy and protection, cyber-security laws, telecom interconnection agreements.
• Regulators and policymakers should look at 5G deployment as a system that has cascading benefits.
• This requires putting in place new forms of self and co-regulation instead of the command-and-control regime.
• Liberalised scarce resource policies including spectrum sharing across private and public entities should be done.
• Releasing 26 and 60 GHz millimetre wave spectrum for micro-cellular coverage in dense urban areas
• Mandating open standards for data and connectivity
• Pooling investment for co-working and value creation by different entities
• Enabling non-discriminatory access to infrastructure and services
• Revamping the traditional multi-licensing model to a simplified possibly dual infrastructure and service-based licensing.

Conclusion:

• India, with its overstressed physical infrastructure, and the associated inefficiencies can benefit hugely from deployment of integrated 5G digital infrastructure.
• Proactive industry-friendly policy is the need of the hour for India to attain the true benefits of 5G.

Source: Financial Express