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5G Perspective

Leading the 5G trans­for­mation through skill develop­ment

5G has become a hot topic across the nation today. With new entrants into the spectrum auction, it becomes natural to discuss whether this technology is worth the hype it is creating. Can one technology alone become the salvation for a new India?

To answer this question, we must first understand the offering of 5G, which is the fifth generation of wireless technology that provides high-speed low-latency connections. It is about 100 times faster than 4G, allowing ultra-low latency and greater bandwidth, creating new opportunities for people and businesses. 5G is also enhanced by usage of technologies, such as edge computing, which processes data closer to the place where it is generated. 5G also complements the usage of many technologies and services across sectors. As one of my peers says, “5G puts telecom in the center stage where it cuts across every sector, whether it is Fintech, Agri-Tech or Ed-tech”.

As 5G opens cutting-edge ways of improving sustainability, a few industries, which will be rapidly enhanced by 5G, like smart farming/precision agriculture, drones, AI-enhanced machinery, healthcare, all have ready use-cases. The need of the hour is the ability for India to execute these projects in a smarter, safer, and sustainable way for domestic and international markets.

We need the workforce now!
For the last 30 years of wireless evolution, India has always taken a backseat in the manufacturing of telecom equipment, but 5G has provided India with the opportunity to offer competing products and solutions. 5G is introducing new agile possibilities for enterprises and we need to take advantage of this global market demand by utilizing schemes like PLI telecom or DLI for 5G to setup domestic manufacturing units for telecom equipment and mobile handsets. Likewise, we need to update our existing infrastructure to accommodate the bandwidth necessary to facilitate new-age technologies like IoT, ML/AI, cloud computing, etc. This can only be achieved with an aggressive expansion of our current telecom workforce through re-skilling and upskilling.

With the 5G spectrum auctions conducted and deployment imminent, 2022 is proving to be a pivotal year for telecom. The workforce needs to be readily available within the year. To meet these aggressive timelines, a good case can be made for setting up special training centers and skill labs in the existing ITI/polytechnic infrastructure and utilize their reach to penetrate trainings for entry level and specialized job roles. This model can be seen through the government’s recent push for skilling under drone technology for farming, maintenance, and delivery use-cases. There is a need for skilled field engineers and architects for building new 5G-equipped towers and fibrization of Gram Panchayats under the BharatNet project. Leveraging the existing government skilling infrastructure is one way to achieve the above objectives at the most minimal time and cost factor. The industry and policy framework are being synergized for such usage.

To sum it all up, it can be said that 5G will be as major driving force for the Indian economy in the coming few years as businesses rebuild in a post-pandemic world. It is imperative that they also chart the roadmap to invest in the scaling up of the workforce through industry certification by incumbent enterprises, who have proactively embraced the fifth-generation wireless technology.

The road ahead is difficult but promising. For 5G to succeed in India, we must head toward embracing innovative technologies with open arms and make the future brighter and more equitable for all.

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