Last week, the Indian telecoms market witnessed the launch of 5G from the two biggest operators in India. Bharti Airtel switched on its 5G network in eight cities on 1 October, followed by Reliance Jio going live in four cities. In tandem with the launch of 5G, the Indian government plans to take a lead in the development and implementation of 5G technologies with its ‘Make in India’ local manufacturing initiative. Mavenir’s recent announcement that it has begun producing 2G, 4G and 5G radios in India for the local and global markets.
A recent GSMA Intelligence analysis found that 5G could benefit the Indian economy by INR36.4 trillion ($455 billion) between 2023 and 2040. The early use cases trials from operators for both consumers and enterprises (e.g. Airtel testing private networks at a Bosch facility and cloud gaming for consumers) highlight they are prepared to contribute to this growth. India accounts for around 13% of the global mobile market by number of connections and achieving the ambitious nationwide coverage targets announced by the Indian operators at the time of launch will be a key contributor to scaling 5G globally.