Indian companies view 5G as a key enabler of digital transformation, which has become increasingly important since the pandemic accelerated adoption of digital services. Industries like healthcare, manufacturing, energy and utilities, education, and public safety will be the early adopters of 5G, says Nitin Bansal, MD, India & Head Networks, South East Asia, Oceania and India, Ericsson. 5Gs added capacity will be beneficial for both consumers and businesses as data demand and consumption grow, he tells Sudhir Chowdhary in a recent interview. Excerpts:

Tell us about the potential for 5G adoption from an enterprise perspective.5G will be critical for driving Industry 4.0, considering it requires reliable and secure private networks to drive digital transformation of enterprises. We recently got Omdia to do a study on the Indian market with regards to 5G; it shows that more than half (52%) of Indian enterprises want to start using 5G within the next 12 months and a further 31% expect to use 5G by 2024.

As per the study, enterprises in India view 5G as a critical technology enabling their digital transformation. The top ranked benefits of 5G are superior network performance enabling automation and new ways of working. The study highlights that quality of experience rather than price will drive customers to buy 5G, changing the competitive dynamics of Indias telecom market. The top 5G use cases that enterprises identify are enhanced content streaming, real-time video analytics and control of autonomous vehicles and drones.

Which industry will be the early adopters of this new technology?Industries like healthcare, manufacturing, energy and utilities, automotive education, and public safety will be the early adopters of 5G. As per Ericssons 5G Business Compass report, the total 5G-enabled B2B opportunity for Indian operators, across 10 industries, would be $17 billion by 2030. The initial use-case of a private 5G network for any geography will be around gaining operational flexibility and reliability etc.

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The manufacturing sector will rely on 5G for smart manufacturing. In the healthcare sector, wearable devices, secure online consultations, and mission critical applications will improve resource efficiency.

What is the impact of private networks on enterprises?Private networks are the preferred way to power digital transformation by connecting devices, industrial sites, and augmenting workers. They support a diverse set of Industry 4.0 use cases, such as real-time location system (RTLS)/asset tracking, inventory management, building automation, and robotics etc.

Considering the long-term benefits, private networks will help enterprises achieve better scalability, quality, and efficiencies, etc. thereby, making business operations more robust and agile. Some of the global deployments include: Telia in Sweden is building a dedicated local 5G-ready mobile network for mining company Boliden at Aitik, the worlds most efficient open-pit copper mine located in the north of Sweden. Telefnica, Ericsson and Mercedes-Benz are building the worlds first 5G mobile network for automobile production in Germany. Ericssons very own factory in the USA is a 5G smart factory. In India, we have set up a 5G lab with Capgemini in Mumbai where the 5G EP5G solution has been deployed. It will enable industry innovation, experimentation, and deployment of 5G and Edge technologies for clients across industries.

What have been the learnings from Ericssons global deployment experiences?Ericsson has an established global 5G leadership with 130+ live 5G networks. Some of the global use-cases that we are deploying across other markets can be adapted and introduced in India. We are seeing rapid adoption of 5G in markets where it is live. In 2019, we partnered with SK Telecom, the largest mobile operator in South Korea to switch on its commercial 5G network in the worlds fastest growing 5G market.

We also partnered with Telstra, Australias largest mobile network provider, to roll out and activate 5G in 10 cities in the same year. Early users were able to experience better network coverage even in the underground and over popular areas while advanced technologies such as AR and VR are being utilised for diverse use cases powered by the speed and low latency of 5G.

What kind of new jobs/roles will be in demand with the introduction of 5G services?Accelerated digitalisation coupled with the launch of 5G services in India will see an increase in employment opportunities across sectors like manufacturing, transportation, healthcare, retail, agriculture. 5G will transform each of these industries with various new applications and technologies like AI/ML, AR/VR, edge computing, network slicing etc. Therefore, professionals with an in-depth understanding of 5G and related technologies are going to be in very high demand.

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A 5G-proficient workforce will be in high demand: Nitin Bansal, MD, India & Head Networks, South East Asia, Oceania And India, Ericsson - The...