The rollout of 5G services can bring new economic opportunities and help India break down the traditional barriers to development while boosting the innovation of startups and companies, according to the Economic Survey.
The massive wave of digitization, increasing penetration of smart phoneand the introduction of technology have opened the doors for both traditional and new-age sectors, noted the 2022-23 Economic Report, tabled in Parliament on Tuesday.
“The introduction of 5G Services can unlock new economic opportunities and help the country break down the traditional barriers to development, boost innovation by start-ups and commercial enterprises, and advance the vision of ‘Digital India’,” it said.
The journey is “far from complete and much remains to be done to realize our true potential.”
The survey noted the interstate disparity in teledensity, with rural areas lagging behind urban locations telecom Penetration, but added in the same breath that the rural areas are catching up “encouragingly”.
It was emphasized that the annual change in Internet subscribers is greater in rural areas (for most states) than in urban areas.
Regarding next-generation connectivity services, it said 5G could impact consumers directly through higher values Data transfer speeds and lower latency, and found that its use cases, developed by telcos and startups in education, healthcare, workplace safety and smart farming, are now being deployed across the country.
Telecom reforms and clear policy direction resulted in the 2022 spectrum auction receiving its highest-ever bids, the survey found.
As a key reform measure, the Indian Telegraph Right of Way (Amendment) Rules, 2022 will enable faster and easier deployment of telegraph infrastructure to enable rapid 5G adoption.
“The government has introduced procedural reforms in wireless licensing, including the de-licensing of various frequency bands, to encourage innovation, manufacturing and export,” it said.
The survey noted that the country has come a long way from the days when having a telephone connection was considered a luxury to the present day when a majority have a telephone connection mobile phone, mobile phone Connection.
The survey attributed this to the cumulative efforts of telecom providers expanding their network bandwidth, the government’s enabling environment and consumer reach for smartphones.
As of November 2022, the total phone subscriber base in India was 117 crore. While more than 97 percent of all subscribers are connected wirelessly (114.3 million at the end of November 2022), it was 83.7 billion Internet Connections from June 2022.
Overall teledensity in India was 84.8 percent, with large variations between states. It ranged from 55.4 percent in Bihar to 270.6 percent in Delhi. Eight licensed service areas, namely Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka had over 100 percent teledensity.
“Apart from the interstate disparity in teledensity, teledensity in rural areas remains at much lower levels compared to urban areas. However, the year-over-year catch-up of rural areas is encouraging in terms of Internet subscribers being greater in rural areas (for the majority of states) than in urban areas,” it said.
Telecom services provided a cushion to the rural economy in the early stages of COVID-19 as many returned to rural India for a living.
“The digital infrastructure created over the years not only ensured the continuous transmission of information, but also added economic value in the digitization of companies,” it said.
During the challenging times of the pandemic, the telecom sector has continued to provide seamless connectivity for the smooth functioning of critical activities and services remotely. This has been aided by the sharp rise in affordable smartphones, which have become more than just a communication device.
“It has emerged as a key enabler for the Digital India initiative with various new services and applications such as digital payments, e-governance, e-commerce, e-health and e-education. As the backbone, these services have fueled the overall economic growth of the country,” the Economic Survey found.
The delivery of services through digital tools has come a long way, it said, adding that before 2014, access to digital services was seen as a prerogative of city households.
“We added more internet subscribers in rural areas than in their urban counterparts in the last 3 years (2019-21) (95.76 million vs. 92.81 million in rural vs. urban respectively). digital journeys through rural areas through ambitious government programs…” it said.
The survey cited the flagship BharatNet Project Scheme, the Telecoms Development Plan, the Aspirational District Scheme, initiatives in the Northeast region through the Comprehensive Telecoms Development Plan (CTDP) and initiatives related to areas affected by left-wing extremism (LWE) in this regard.
The survey highlighted that digital growth in rural India has been the biggest shock absorber during the COVID-19 pandemic as both businesses and consumer demand have been impacted.
“As school education went online for a significant period even after the pandemic, the increase in internet subscriptions in rural areas helped significantly mitigate learning loss. This even facilitated the successful introduction of mass vaccination in rural areas,” it said.
The 200 percent increase in rural internet subscriptions between 2015 and 2021, compared to 158 percent in urban areas, reflects increased government pressure to bring rural and urban digital connectivity to the same level.
Government programs such as Production Linked Incentive (PLI) for telecom and network products will encourage domestic cell phone manufacturing and network installation.
The continued proliferation of measures like the Bharat Net Project will further improve accessibility, affordability, connectivity and inclusivity across India, it said.
