publive-image

Digital India is a campaign launched by the Government of India to ensure the Government's services are made available to citizens electronically by improved online infrastructure and by increasing internet connectivity or by making the country digitally empowered in the field of technology. The aim is to achieve the vision of Digital India, where every Indian is digitally empowered and every information is digitally available. The objective of the Digital India Group is to come out with innovative ideas and practical solutions.

“India has become the largest consumer of mobile data today and to further advance efforts in this direction, the government will ensure that infrastructure is available for all service providers on a nondiscriminatory basis,” said Manoj Sinha the telecom minister at the India mobile congress.  The government is aware of the telecom industry’s concerns, including inadequate spectrum, and the new communications policy will address these issues.

Telecom Secretary Aruna Sundararajan said that industry-government alliance could help the country to attract investment worth $100 billion by 2022. Sundararajan was speaking at the inaugural session of the three-day India Mobile Congress 2018 with the minister. “The policy seeks to propel India to digital leadership and dividends," she added. The government, according to her, aims India to become a $1 trillion economy in the next five years. The department, she said, has taken numerous steps that had led to key reforms in the sector. Sundarajan said this year event "will focus on the network of future like 5G, technologies shaping our life like robotics, autonomous vehicles, start-ups, etc".

There is a need to make telecom networks flexible and agile while ensuring simplification and security of the networks. Highlighting the importance of security and simplicity of networks, Suhas Mansingh, VP Engineering Service Provider Networking Systems, Cisco, said, “We need speed in networks with security and flexibility.” It's not that the technology is not there to design a network, at the end of the day it comes down to flexibility.

Mukesh Ambani, whose company’s entry into the telecom market triggered the consolidation, was more upbeat about the sector’s prospects. He said that India would rise to the No 1 spot in mobile data consumption in under two years from the 155th position and that the country had witnessed the “fastest transition” from 2G/3G services to 4G anywhere in the world. By 2020, “every phone in India will be 4G enabled, and every customer will have access to 4G connectivity”, he said.

Union Minister Manoj Sinha today said the India Mobile Congress, the biggest telecom industry event in the country, has received interests from ASEAN and BIMSTEC countries besides the US, Canada, and European Union.

"Telecom Minister (Manoj Sinha) and DoT secretary (Aruna Sundararajan) will be meeting people at IMC at the pre-fixed schedule. Department of Science and Technology will engage with IMC to connect with innovators. We are trying if any fund from government can be made available for select start-ups at the event," he added.

Around 300 exhibitors, 2,500 delegates and 10,000 visitors are expected to participate in the event.

"IMC is aspiring to be biggest telecom sector business, innovation and information exchange platform. We have received support from embassies of the US, the UK, Sweden, Canada and European Union secretariat," COAI Director General Rajan Mathews said. Live demonstration of 5G will take place at the event, machine-to-machine communications, IoT and other latest technology are scheduled for demonstration at the event, Mathews said.

Talking about 5G, Twist said, “one of the biggest advantages of 5G is that you can play around with different spectrums.” Adding to it, Nivruti Rai, VP, Data Centre Group, Country Head, Intel India said that 5G is very exciting and there is a need to look at how we monetize 5G.

India would soon be counted among the world’s “top three nations in fixed broadband”, concluded the India mobile congress.