5G – A growth catalyst for Indian enterprises

Indian Enterprises will benefit tremendously as 5G opens adoption avenues, particularly for Healthcare, Media & Entertainment, and the Banking sector.

Banks are exploring usage of 5G networks to implement data-centric technologies like AI and ML, thereby providing more personalized service to their customers (Image Reuters)

By Sameer Bhatnagar

India finally forayed into the market when it officially launched 5G network services in October during the IMC 2022 event in New Delhi. The launch of 5G services opens a plethora of use cases, with Indian telecommunication companies already earmarking billion-of-dollars of investments over the next several years mainly around network upgrades with building edge-AI compute models, beamforming, dynamic spectrum sharing, among others. Even enterprises in various other sectors are looking to tap into the benefits of 5G technology.

Globally, 5G technology has brought in revolutionary changes, offering unprecedented speed, high bandwidth, low latency, massive scalability, and high reliability for both society and businesses at large. The current business landscape has been continually focusing on improving service availability, enhancing customer experience, and streamlining operational activities. New technologies such as cloud gaming, drones, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and 8K video streaming are a few of the prime applications that we have started to witness off late, though the implementations have been scattered across the globe.

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There is no doubt that the opportunities with 5G are unparalleled. Indian Enterprises will benefit tremendously as 5G opens adoption avenues, particularly for Healthcare, Media & Entertainment, and the Banking sector. Healthcare has been one of the prime sectors witnessing myriad innovations to support medical professionals in providing better patient care. Over the last few years, the Indian government has been actively focusing on providing comprehensive primary healthcare to the citizens at effective costs. The introduction of 5G will act as a boon for both, especially remote patients who may not have easy access to a medical facility or hospital. 5G will support data collection and analysis through 5G-enabled IoT devices and wearables. This could be transmitted through more reliable connections and help practitioners make timely decisions remotely.

An attached area to remote patient monitoring is the Connected Imaging/ teleradiology. Connecting high-speed 5G network to existing architectures can help quickly and reliably transfer huge data files of medical imagery, which can improve both access to care and the quality of care. A notable innovation undertaken by an Indian Telecom operator in collaboration with a known Hospital chain in India has been the launch of Connected Ambulance. Bharti Airtel has collaborated with Apollo Hospitals and Cisco to develop a 5G Connected Ambulance. In coming years, 5G would also enable augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) immersive training, which could be used to help doctors explain diagnoses and assist in doing surgeries to patients.

Another sector poised for tremendous growth in India is the Media and entertainment industry (M&E). Media and entertainment companies are investing heavily on digital platforms, as the viewership for digital mediums has gained prominence over conventional telecast programs. Smartphones have already broadened the viewership and has created a level-playing field for broader audience. Coupled with 5G speed and competitive subscription plans from digital platform providers and CSPs, the viewership of live events and online streaming is expected to strengthen further.

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An adjacent area that has also started picking up is the online gaming market. 5G’s low latency and the convenience of smartphones will facilitate gamers to embrace cloud gaming and very soon, a convergence of 5G with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and AR/VR technology, will help avid gaming enthusiasts in experiencing a more immersive gaming experience.

The recent pandemic has forced the banking sector to hasten their pace for digital transformation. Banks are now looking to merge their traditional and online banking channels, thereby provide a full omni-channel experience across various touchpoints. Digital payments are gradually becoming more crucial for all parties involved, due to accessibility, increased transaction speed, and targeted offers. Real-time digital transactions could further be made possible by 5G, eliminating delays, and shortening settlement cycles. Banks are exploring usage of 5G networks to implement data-centric technologies like AI and ML, thereby providing more personalized service to their customers. With banks slowly adopting cloud services for storing data, quicker access to information by consumers whilst quick turn-around-time (TAT) on query resolutions is being made possible.

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Another factor that will drive the growth of this market is the delivery of differentiated 5G services using network slicing technique. However, a critical challenge faced by the market players is the requirement of high spending capability of carriers to set up a 5G infrastructure, the cost for which will ultimately be borne by consumers for utilizing these services, besides investing in new 5G enabled smart devices. Similarly, the adoption of Wi-Fi communication technology by enterprises and security concerns in the 5G core network are the major factors hindering the market growth. That being said, the changes being brought by 5G technology on both the enterprise and consumer segments would be really transformative, helping India build the adage of a Smarter nation.

(Sameer Bhatnagar, Associate Director – ICT Research and Advisory, MarketsandMarkets™. The views expressed in the article are of the author and do not reflect the official position or policy of FinancialExpress.com.)

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