If you didn’t already know (and you really should), India has made its intentions about digitizing the country very clear. PM Modi’s recent initiatives for projects such as Aadhar and demonetization prove this undoubtedly. Additionally, someone sees yet another potential advancement in India’s digitization move.

Introduction

Ericsson’s chief technology officer predicts India will not only adopt 5G technology, but will do so at the same time as other developed markets. Not wanting to make a prediction without backing it up, he adds that it is quite probable considering, “…the country’s telecom industry is transitioning from being largely voice-centric to a data-centric one…” He continues to explain how this change is pushing telecom operators to continuously update it’s technology from 2G to 4G, and the predicted 5G. India seems to be on the track, considering it has already halted investments in the 3G network. Ericsson has partnered with Bharti Airtel specifically for creating a roadmap to 5G technology. But just how likely is it that the prediction will come true?

Problem

Even though the initiative sounds fantastic, people have their doubts as to exactly how probable it is. The largest concern is how logical it is to assume India can make the major jump given its history in Internet connectivity. For example, the nation is ranked 26 out of 28 global tech hubs. An article published by Quartz outlines the major obstacles in this transition. The article discusses how important it is for India to make changes in several parts of society such as, “…transport, radio, and core network components.”  Unfortunately, this is unlikely given the debts telecom firms have in addition to pressure on margins and price wars. But given the massive debts that Indian telecom firms have piled up and the severe pressure.

Let’s hope India defies the odds and ends up coming out on top!