MINI PROJECT II REPORT

ON

TELECOM INDUSTRY: IMPACTS

AND IMPLEMENTATION OF 4G
AND 5G IN INDIA
Under the guidance of
Ms. Kirti Verma
Assistant Professor

Submitted in Partial
fulfillment for the award of degree of
Master of Business Administration from
Dr. A PJ Abdul Kalam Technical University, Lucknow

Submitted By
Gaurav Ponia
MBA IInd Semester, ICCMRT
(Roll.no- 2001240700058)

INSTITUTE OF CO-OPERATIVE &

CORPORATE MANAGEMENT, RESEARCH AND
TRAINING 21/467, RING ROAD, INDIRA NAGAR,
Lucknow-226016
2021
 Phone: 2716431, 2716092
Fax: (0522) 2716092
E-mail: info@iccmrt.ac.in
Website: www.iccmrt.ac.in

Institute of Co-operative & Corporate Management, Research and Training

467, Sector-21, Ring Road, Indira Nagar, Lucknow-226 016

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that GAURAV PONIA, a student of Master Of Business
Administration (MBA) Programme (Batch 2020-22), at this institute has completed a
mini project report on “Telecom Industry”. The student has made a presentation before
a panel of reports at the institute.

Dr. K. Anbumani Kirti Verma

Principal, ICCMRT Assistant Professor

pg. ii
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It is my pleasure to acknowledge and express my gratitude to all those who helped me

throughout in the successful completion of this project.
I am grateful to Ms. Kirti Verma, Assistant Professor, Institute of Co-operative &
Corporate Management, Research & Training, Lucknow for her continuous
guidance to accomplish this project work, successfully.

Gaurav Ponia
MBA, Semester-II
Roll no. : 2001240700058

pg. iii
 DECLARATION

I GAURAV PONIA, hereby declare that the project work entitled “TELECOM
INDUSTRY ITS IMPACTS AND IMPLEMENTAIONS OF 4G AND 5G
IN
NDIA” submitted to the INSTITUTE OF CO-OPERATIVE &
CORPORATE MANAGEMENT, RESEARCH AND TRAINING,
LUCKNOW, is original work done by me under the guidance of Ms. KIRTI
VERMA, Assistant Professor and this project work has not performed the basis
for the award of any Degree or Diploma and similar project if any.

Date: (Gaurav Ponia)

Roll No. 2001240700058
pg. iv
 Preface
A brief review of existing literature indicates that there is a strong impact of digitization and
growth of internet on the economy and the society. 4G communication technology, now-a-
days has become synonymous with high speed internet connectivity. India has taken a
lot of time in having such high speed mobile technology after gradual evolution from
2G and 3G services. 2G was purely voice centric with minimal data speed, that too by
virtue of GPRS and EDGE technology. On the other hand, 3G is a mixture of voice and
data. This paper attempts to study evolution of 4G technology in India, its impact on
usage pattern of mobile users and on mobile operators. It is found that adoption of 4G
communication technology is going to provide a fillip to the wellbeing of population
considerably due to its positive impact on economy and among all sections of society.

Also we study about the upcoming 5G technology in telecom sector. With the growing
demand of high data speed in India and increase in the number of users from the last decade
the present technology of 3G and 4G will not be able to meet the requiring internet demands
of the users. Hence the development of next generation of the network called the 5th
generation of thenetwork is necessary. This paper will represent a comprehensive study on the
challenges for the implementation of 5G in INDIA, discuss its future scope, its applications
and will propose solutions for the factors that are causing problems in the implementation of
5G.

pg. v
 Contents

Cover Page I

Cetficate by mentor Ii

Acknowledgement Iii

Declaration Iv

Preface V

Introduction of industry 1-15

Introduction of topic 15-22

Objective of study 22

Content of report...

 Impacts 23-29

 Adavantages And Disadvantages 23-33

 Challenge...

Limitations 30-33

Conclusion 45

Bibliography 46

pg. vi
 INTRODUCTION TO TELECOM SECTOR

The telecommunication sector is made up of companies that make communication

possible on a global scale, whether it is through the phone or the Internet, through
airwaves or cables, through wires or wirelessly. These companies created the
infrastructure that allows data in words, voice, audio, or video to be sent anywhere in
the world. The largest companies in the sector are telephone (both wired and wireless)
operators, satellite companies, cable companies, and Internet service providers.

Not long ago, the telecommunications sector consisted of a club of big national and
regional operators. Since the early 2000s, the industry has been swept up in
rapid deregulation and innovation. In many countries around the world, government
monopolies are now privatized and they face a plethora of new competitors.
Traditional markets have been turned upside down, as the growth in mobile services
outpaces the fixed-line and the Internet starts to replace voice as the staple business.

The telecommunications industries within the sector of information and

communication technology is made up of all telecommunications/telephone
companies and internet service providers and plays the crucial role in the evolution of
mobile communications and the information society.

Traditional telephone calls continue to be the industry's biggest revenue generator,

but thanks to advances in network technology, telecom today is less about voice and
increasingly about text (messaging, email) and images (e.g. video streaming). High-
speed internet access for computer-based data applications such as broadband
information services and interactive entertainment is pervasive. Digital subscriber line
(DSL) is the main broadband telecom technology. The fastest growth comes from
(value-added) services delivered over mobile networks.

The telecom sector continues to be at the epicenter for growth, innovation, and
disruption for virtually any industry. Mobile devices and related broadband
connectivity continue to be more and more embedded in the fabric of society today

pg. 1
and they are key in driving the momentum around some key trends such as video
streaming, Internet of Things (IoT), and mobile payments.

Think of telecommunications as the world's biggest machine. Strung together by

complex networks, telephones, mobile phones and internet-linked PCs, the global
system touches nearly all of us. It allows us to speak, share thoughts and do business
with nearly anyone, regardless of where in the world they might be. Telecom operating
companies make all this happen.

Market Segmentation

Of all the customer markets, residential and small business markets are the toughest.
With hundreds of players in the market, competitors rely heavily on price; success rests
largely on brand name strength and investment in efficient billing systems.
The corporate market remains the industry's favorite. Big corporate customers are
concerned mostly about the quality and reliability of their telephone calls and data
delivery while being less price-sensitive than residential customers. Multinationals,
spend heavily on telecom infrastructure and premium services like high-
security private networks and videoconferencing. Network connectivity can also be
provided to other telecom companies by wholesaling circuits to heavy network users
like internet service providers and large corporations.

Recent developments

The telecommunications sector has seen a large increase in the recent years. Whereas
in 2015 there were 3.3 billion active mobile broadband subscriptions worldwide, in
2020 there were around 7.7 billion. This increase was due, in part at least, to the
deployment of 4G LTE.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, telecommunications supported the fight against the
virus and the resilience of economy by various developments, including supporting the
developments of heat maps showing the expansion of the virus as well as supporting
digital communications for an increased numbers of persons working from home.
Evolution of the Telecommunications Sector
pg. 2
The telecommunications industry began in the 1830s, with the invention of the
telegraph, the first mechanical communications device.1 It shortened communication
from days to hours—much as modern mobile technology has shortened the time span
of sending large amounts of data from hours to seconds. The industry broadened with
each new invention: the telephone, radio, television, computer, mobile device. These
technological advances changed how people live and do business.

At one time, telecommunications required physical wires connecting homes and

businesses. In contemporary society, technology has gone mobile. Now, wireless
digital technology is becoming the primary form of communication.

The sector's structure has also changed from a few large players to a more
decentralized system with decreased regulation and barriers to entry. Major public
corporations act as the service providers, while smaller companies sell and service the
equipment, such as routers, switches, and infrastructure, which enable this
communication.

Evaluating Telecommunications Companies

It is hard to avoid the conclusion that size matters in telecom. It is an expensive
business; contenders need to be large enough and produce sufficient cash flow to
absorb the costs of expanding networks and services that become obsolete seemingly
overnight. Transmission systems need to be replaced as frequently as every two years.

Big companies that own extensive networks—especially local networks that stretch
directly into customers' homes and businesses—are less reliant on interconnecting with
other companies to get calls and data to their final destinations. By contrast, smaller
players must pay for interconnection more often in order to finish the job. For little
operators hoping to grow big one day, the financial challenges of keeping up with rapid
technological change and depreciation of equipment can be monumental.

Earnings can be a tricky issue when analyzing telecom companies. Many companies
have little or no earnings to speak of. To gauge a company's value, telecom industry
analysts might turn to the price-to-sales ratio (stock price divided by sales). They also
look at average revenue per user (ARPU), which offers a useful measure of growth
pg. 3
performance, and the churn rate, the rate at which customers leave (presumably for a
competitor).

Big Players in Telecommunications

Current industry leaders worldwide can change from year to year. Determining which
are the largest depends on whether one looks in terms of total sales numbers or in
terms of market capitalization value as well.

Telecommunications Sector Outlook

Analysts foresee that product innovation and an increase in mergers and acquisitions
will only facilitate the continued growth and success of the telecommunications
industry. There are many opportunities for investors, and an increase in investors will
only serve to benefit the sector further.

The stability of the sector's growth, even during periods of recession, means that it is
considered to be a solid defensive investment while maintaining its appeal to growth
investors. Even during uncertain and volatile economic times, the steady demand for
voice and data services, along with extensive subscription plans, assures a stable
source of revenues for major telecom firms.

Telecommunications has become an increasingly important basic industry, which

bodes well for its future prospects and continued growth. The continuing advances
in high-speed mobile services and Internet connectivity between devices keep
driving innovation and competition within the sector. Much of the industry focus is
on providing faster data services, especially in the area of high-resolution video.
Essentially, the driving forces are toward quicker and clearer services, increased
connectivity, and multi-application usage.

Emerging market economies continue to be a boon for the industry, with the growth
rate of the cell phone industry in countries such as China and India pushing the
abilities of hardware producers to keep up with the level of demand.

In the U.S., analysts are paying close attention to issues surrounding net neutrality as
the demand for data and video services continue to increase well into the future. There

pg. 4
is still a strong demand for wireless spectrum rights, not to mention an increasing trend
toward consolidation through mergers and acquisitions.

The Bottom Line

Telecommunication companies, like other forms of utilities, often operate with stable
customer bases that are protected from competition by government mandate. These
pseudo-monopolies allow for consistent dividends. However, the dynamic nature of
communications has led to mobile and Internet-based phone systems, undermining the
demand for traditional landlines. When this happens, telecommunication companies
either suffer or adapt, incorporate the new technology and grow rapidly as consumers
buy the latest equipment.

Overview of the Telecommunications Industry

Modern telecommunications industry players produce communication equipment and
deliver a set of voice, data, and broadband services using wireline or wired
infrastructure of cables, networks, servers, computers, and satellites. In this article, we
will define the telecom industry and discuss some of the key business drivers.
Understand the various constituents of the telecommunication services sector followed
by a small discussion on current industry trends.

Telecommunication is the transmission of information over significant distances to

communicate. In earlier times, telecommunications involved the use of visual signals,
such as beacons, smoke signals, semaphore telegraphs, signal flags, and optical
heliographs, or audio messages such as coded drumbeats, lung-blown horns, and loud
whistles. In modern times, telecommunications involves the use of electrical devices
such as the telegraph, telephone, radio, and microwave communications.
Communication channels make use of fiber optics and their associated electronics,
orbiting satellites, and the Internet. Modern telecommunications industry players
produce communication equipment and deliver a set of voice, data, and broadband
services using wireline or wired infrastructure of cables, networks, servers, computers,
and satellites.

pg. 5
This industry is highly sensitive to the slightest change in regulatory, technological,
and economic factors and has its own share of challenges largely stemming from these
factors. With wireless and broadband providing the needed momentum to their
growth, the industry players adopt unique strategies to overcome these challenges and
move forward to connect people to people and organizations.

In today’s world the telephone, long-distance, cable/video, cellular, and

telecommunications equipment industries are increasingly intertwined. Major
challenges of this industry are globalization trends, competitive implications of new
technologies, and the changing regulatory environment.

Telecommunication In India

India's telecommunication network is the second largest in the world by number of

telephone users (both fixed and mobile phone) with 1179.49 million subscribers as on
31 January 202. It has one of the lowest call tariffs in the world enabled by mega
telecom operators and hyper-competition among them. India has the world's second-
largest Internet user-base with 747.41 million broadband internet subscribers in the
country.

Major sectors of the Indian telecommunication industry are telephone, internet and
television broadcast industry in the country which is in an ongoing process of
transforming into next generation network, employs an extensive system of modern
network elements such as digital telephone exchanges, mobile switching centres, media
gateways and signalling gateways at the core, interconnected by a wide variety of
transmission systems using fiber-optics or Microwave radio relay networks. The access
network, which connects the subscriber to the core, is highly diversified with different
copper-pair, optic-fiber and wireless technologies. DTH, a relatively new broadcasting
technology has attained significant popularity in the Television segment. The
introduction of private FM has given a fillip to the radio broadcasting in India.
Telecommunication in India has greatly been supported by the INSAT system of the
country, one of the largest domestic satellite systems in the world. India possesses a

pg. 6
diversified communications system, which links all parts of the country by telephone,
Internet, radio, television and satellite.

Indian telecom industry underwent a high pace of market liberalisation and growth
since the 1990s and now has become the world's most competitive and one of the
fastest growing telecom markets.

Telecommunication has supported the socioeconomic development of India and has

played a significant role to narrow down the rural-urban digital divide to some extent.
It also has helped to increase the transparency of governance with the introduction of e-
governance in India. The government has pragmatically used modern
telecommunication facilities to deliver mass education programmes for the rural folk of
India.

According to London-based telecom trade body GSMA, the telecom sector accounted
for 6.5% of India's GDP in 2015, or about ₹9 lakh crore (US$130 billion), and
supported direct employment for 2.2 million people in the country. GSMA estimates
that the Indian telecom sector will contribute ₹14.5 lakh crore (US$200 billion) to the
economy and support 3 million direct jobs and 2 million indirect jobs by 2020.

History

Telecommunications in India began with the introduction of the telegraph. The Indian
postal and telecom sectors are one of the world's oldest. In 1850, the first experimental
electric telegraph line was started between Calcutta and Diamond Harbour. In 1851, it
was opened for the use of the British East India Company. The Posts and Telegraphs
department occupied a small corner of the Public Works Department at that time.

The construction of 4,000 miles (6,400 km) of telegraph lines was started in November
1853. These connected Kolkata (then Calcutta) and Peshawar in the
north; Agra, Mumbai (then Bombay) through Sindwa Ghats, and Chennai (then
Madras) in the south; Ootacamund and Bangalore. William O'Shaughnessy, who
pioneered the telegraph and telephone in India, belonged to the Public Works
Department, and worked towards the development of telecom throughout this period.

pg. 7
A separate department was opened in 1854 when telegraph facilities were opened to
the public.

In 1880, two telephone companies namely The Oriental Telephone Company Ltd. and
The Anglo-Indian Telephone Company Ltd. approached the Government of India to
establish telephone exchange in India. The permission was refused on the grounds that
the establishment of telephones was a Government monopoly and that the Government
itself would undertake the work. In 1881, the Government later reversed its earlier
decision and a licence was granted to the Oriental Telephone Company Limited of
England for opening telephone exchanges
at Calcutta, Bombay, Madras and Ahmedabad and the first formal telephone service
was established in the country. On 28 January 1882, Major E. Baring, Member of
the Governor General of India's Council declared open the Telephone Exchanges in
Calcutta, Bombay and Madras. The exchange in Calcutta named the "Central
Exchange" had a total of 93 subscribers in its early stage. Later that year, Bombay also
witnessed the opening of a telephone exchange.

Liberalisation and privatisation

A mobile phone tower in Leh, Ladakh, India, surrounded by Buddhist prayer flags

Liberalization of Indian telecommunication in industry started in 1981 when Prime

Minister Indira Gandhi signed contracts with Alcatel CIT of France to merge with the
state owned Telecom Company (ITI), in an effort to set up 5,000,000 lines per year.
pg. 8
But soon the policy was let down because of political opposition.[17] Attempts to
liberalize the telecommunication industry were continued by the following government
under the prime-minister-ship of Rajiv Gandhi. He invited Sam Pitroda, a US-
based Non-resident Indian NRI and a former Rockwell International executive to set up
a Centre for Development of Telematics(C-DOT) which manufactured electronic
telephone exchanges in India for the first time. Sam Pitroda had a significant role as a
consultant and adviser in the development of telecommunication in India.

In 1985, the Department of Telecom(DoT) was separated from Indian Post &
Telecommunication Department. DoT was responsible for telecom services in entire
country until 1986 when Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) and Videsh
Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) were carved out of DoT to run the telecom services of
metro cities (Delhi and Mumbai) and international long-distance operations
respectively.

The demand for telephones was ever increasing and in the 1990s Indian government
was under increasing pressure to open up the telecom sector for private investment as a
part of Liberalisation-Privatisation-Globalisation policies that the government had to
accept to overcome the severe fiscal crisis and resultant balance of payments issue in
1991. Consequently, private investment in the sector of Value Added Services (VAS)
was allowed and cellular telecom sector were opened up for competition from private
investments. It was during this period that the Narsimha Rao-led government
introduced the National Telecommunications policy (NTP) in 1994 which brought
changes in the following areas: ownership, service and regulation of
telecommunications infrastructure. The policy introduced the concept
of telecommunication for all and its vision was to expand the telecommunication
facilities to all the villages in India. Liberalisation in the basic telecom sector was also
envisaged in this policy. They were also successful in establishing joint ventures
between state owned telecom companies and international players. Foreign firms were
eligible to 49% of the total stake. The multi-nationals were just involved in technology
transfer, and not policy making.

During this period, the World Bank and ITU had advised the Indian Government to
liberalise long-distance services to release the monopoly of the state-owned DoT and

pg. 9
VSNL and to enable competition in the long-distance carrier business which would
help reduce tariff's and better the economy of the country. The Rao run government
instead liberalised the local services, taking the opposite political parties into
confidence and assuring foreign involvement in the long-distance business after 5
years. The country was divided into 20 telecommunication circles for basic telephony
and 18 circles for mobile services. These circles were divided into category A, B and C
depending on the value of the revenue in each circle. The government threw open the
bids to one private company per circle along with government-owned DoT per circle.
For cellular service two service providers were allowed per circle and a 15 years
licence was given to each provider. During all these improvements, the government
did face oppositions from ITI, DoT, MTNL, VSNL and other labour unions, but they
managed to keep away from all the hurdles.

In 1997, the government set up TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) which
reduced the interference of Government in deciding tariffs and policymaking. The
political powers changed in 1999 and the new government under the leadership of Atal
Bihari Vajpayee was more pro-reforms and introduced better liberalisation policies. In
2000, the Vajpayee government constituted the Telecom Disputes Settlement and
Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) through an amendment of the TRAI Act, 1997. The
primary objective of TDSAT's establishment was to release TRAI from adjudicatory
and dispute settlement functions in order to strengthen the regulatory framework. Any
dispute involving parties like licensor, licensee, service provider and consumers are
resolved by TDSAT. Moreover, any direction, order or decision of TRAI can be
challenged by appealing in TDSAT. The government corporatised the operations wing
of DoT on 1 October 2000 and named it as Department of Telecommunication Services
(DTS) which was later named as Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). The proposal
of raising the stake of foreign investors from 49% to 74% was rejected by the opposite
political parties and leftist thinkers. Domestic business groups wanted the government
to privatise VSNL. Finally in April 2002, the government decided to cut its stake of
53% to 26% in VSNL and to throw it open for sale to private enterprises. TATA finally
took 25% stake in VSNL.

pg. 10
This was a gateway to many foreign investors to get entry into the Indian telecom
markets. After March 2000, the government became more liberal in making policies
and issuing licences to private operators. The government further reduced licence fees
for [cellular service providers and increased the allowable stake to 74% for foreign
companies. Because of all these factors, the service fees finally reduced and the call
costs were cut greatly enabling every common middle-class family in India to afford a
cell phone. Nearly 32 million handsets were sold in India. The data reveals the real
potential for growth of the Indian mobile market. Many private operators, such
as Reliance Communications, Jio, Tata Indicom, Vodafone, Loop
Mobile, Airtel, Idea etc., successfully entered the high potential Indian telecom market.
In the initial 5–6 years the average monthly subscribers additions were around 0.05 to
0.1 million only and the total mobile subscribers base in December 2002 stood at 10.5
million. However, after a number of proactive initiatives taken by regulators and
licensors, the total number of mobile subscribers has increased rapidly to over 929
million subscribers as of May 2012.

In March 2008, the total GSM and CDMA mobile subscriber base in the country was
375 million, which represented a nearly 50% growth when compared with previous
year. As the unbranded Chinese cell phones which do not have International Mobile
Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers pose a serious security risk to the country, Mobile
network operators therefore suspended the usage of around 30 million mobile phones
(about 8% of all mobiles in the country) by 30 April 2009. Phones without valid IMEI
cannot be connected to cellular operators.

India has opted for the use of both the GSM (global system for mobile
communications) and CDMA (code-division multiple access) technologies in
the mobile sector. In addition to landline and mobile phones, some of the companies
also provide the WLL service. The mobile tariffs in India have also become the lowest
in the world. A new mobile connection can be activated with a monthly commitment of
US$0.15 only.

Consolidation

Post starting of the commercial operation of Reliance Jio in September 2016, the
telecom market saw a huge change in terms of falling tariff rates and reduction of data
pg. 11
charges, which changed the economics for some of the telecom players. This resulted
in exit of many smaller players from the market. Players like Videocon and Systema
sold their spectrum under spectrum trading agreements to Airtel and RCOM
respectively in Q4 2016.

On 23 February 2017, Telenor India announced that Bharti Airtel will take over all its
business and assets in India and deal will be completed in 12 months timeframe. On 14
May 2018, Department of Telecom approved the merger of Telenor India with Bharti
Airtel paving the way for final commercial closing of the merger between the two
companies. Telenor India has been acquired by Airtel almost without any cost.

On 12 October 2017, Bharti Airtel announced that it would acquire the consumer
mobile businesses of Tata Teleservices Ltd (TTSL) and Tata Teleservices Maharastra
Ltd (TTML) in a debt-free cash-free deal. The deal was essentially free
for Airtel which incurred TTSL's unpaid spectrum payment liability. TTSL will
continue to operate its enterprise, fixed line and broadband businesses and its stake in
tower company Viom Networks. The consumer mobile businesses of Tata Docomo,
Tata Teleservices (TTSL) and Tata Teleservices Maharashtra Limited (TTML) have
been merged into Bharti Airtel from 1 July 2019.

Reliance Communications had to shut down its 2G and 3G services including all voice
services and only offer 4G data services from 29 December 2017, as a result of debt
and a failed merger with Aircel. Surprisingly, the shut down was shortly after
completion of acquisition of MTS India on 31 October 2017. In February 2019, the
company filed for bankruptcy as it was unable to sell assets to repay its debt. It has an
estimated debt of ₹ 57,383 crore against assets worth ₹18,000 crore.

Aircel shut down its operations in unprofitable circles including, Gujarat, Maharashtra,
Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh (West) from 30
January 2018. Aircel along with its units - Aircel Cellular and Dishnet Wireless - on 1
March 2018, filed for bankruptcy in the National Companies Law Tribunal (NCLT) in
Mumbai due to huge competition and high levels of debt.

Vodafone and Idea Cellular completed their merger on 31 August 2018, and the
merged entity is renamed to Vi. The merger created the largest telecom company in
India by subscribers and by revenue, and the second largest mobile network in terms
of
pg. 12
number of subscribers in the world. Under the terms of the deal, the Vodafone
Group holds a 45.1% stake in the combined entity, the Aditya Birla Group holds 26%
and the remaining shares will be held by the public. However, even after the merger
both the brands have been continued to carry their own independent brands.

With all this consolidation, the Indian mobile market has turned into a four-player
market, with Jio as the number-one player, with revenue market share of 34%, Airtel
India in second position, with revenue market share of 28% and Vi, with revenue
market share of 27%. The government operator BSNL/MTNL is in the distant 4th
position, with an approximate market share of 11%.

Telephony and two state-run businesses dominate the telephony segment. Most
Private-sector
companies were
Market share of formed
mobile by a recent
telecom revolution
operators and restructuring
in India launched
as of 31 January within a
2021 according
decade, directed Regulatory
to the Telecom by MinistryAuthority
of Communications and IT, Department of
of India (TRAI).
Jio (35.43%)
Airtel (29.72%)
Vi (24.32%)
BSNL (10.53%)

Telecommunications and Minister of Finance. Since then, most companies

Market share of FixedLine telecom operators in India as of 30 September 2020
gained 2G, 3G and 4G licences and engaged fixed-line, mobile and internet business in
according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
BSNL (52.88%)
Airtel (22.33%)
Jio (11.63%)
Tata Teleservices (8.37%)
Vi (2.58%)
Reliance Communications (1.27%)
Quadrant (0.95%)

pg. 13
India. On landlines, intra-circle calls are considered local calls while inter-circle are
considered long-distance calls. Foreign Direct Investment policy which increased the
foreign ownership cap from 49% to 100%. The Government is working to integrate the
whole country in one telecom circle. For long-distance calls, the area code prefixed
with a zero is dialled first which is then followed by the number (i.e., to call Delhi, 011
would be dialled first followed by the phone number). For international calls, "00"
must be dialled first followed by the country code, area code and local phone number.
The country code for India is 91. Several international fiber-optic links include those to
Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Russia, and Germany. Some major telecom operators
in India include the privately-owned companies like Vi, Airtel, and Reliance Jio and
the state-owned companies - BSNL and MTNL.

Landline

Before the New Telecom Policy was announced in 1999, only the Government-
owned BSNL and MTNL were allowed to provide land-line phone services
through copper wire in India with MTNL operating
in Delhi and Mumbai and BSNL servicing all other areas of the country. Due to the
rapid growth of the cellular phone industry in India, landlines are facing stiff
competition from cellular operators, with the number of wireline subscribers fell from
37.90 million in December 2008 to 20 million in October 2020. This has forced land-
line service providers to become more efficient and improve their quality of service. As
of October 2020, India has 20 million wireline customers.

Mobile telephony

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pg. 14
With a subscriber base of more than 1151.8 million (31 Oct 2020), the mobile
telecommunications system in India is the second-largest in the world and it was
thrown open to private players in the 1990s. GSM was comfortably maintaining its
position as the dominant mobile technology with 80% of the mobile subscriber market,
but CDMA seemed to have stabilised its market share at 20% for the time being.

The country is divided into multiple zones, called circles (roughly along state
boundaries). Government and several private players run local and long-distance
telephone services. Competition, especially after entry of Reliance Jio, has caused
prices to drop across India, which are already one of the cheapest in the world. The
rates are supposed to go down further with new measures to be taken by the
Information Ministry.

In September 2004, the number of mobile phone connections crossed the number of
fixed-line connections and presently dwarfs the wireline segment substantially. The
mobile subscriber base has grown from 5 million subscribers in 2001 to over 1,179.32
million subscribers as of July 2018. India primarily follows the GSM mobile system, in
the 900 MHz band. Recent operators also operate in the 1800 MHz band. The
dominant players are Vi, Airtel, Jio, and BSNL/MTNL.
International roaming agreements exist between most operators and many foreign
carriers. The government allowed Mobile number portability (MNP) which enables
mobile telephone users to retain their mobile telephone numbers when changing from
one mobile network operator to another. In 2014, Trivandrum became the first city in
India to cross the mobile penetration milestone of 100 mobile connections per 100
people. In 2015 three more cities from Kerala, Kollam, Kochi and Kottayam crossed
the 100 mark. In 2017 many other major cities in the country
like Chennai, Mysore, Mangalore, Bangalore, Hyderabad, etc. also crossed the
milestone. Currently Trivandrum tops the Indian cities with a mobile penetration of
168.4 followed by Kollam 143.2 and Kochi.

INTRODUCTION TO 4G

In telecommunication sector, 4G stands for 4th generation cellular wireless standard

and is considered as an able successor of 2G and 3G technology. As per ITU-R

pg. 15
(International Telecommunication Union Radio communication sector) standard, 4G is
expected to offer a peak speed of 100 Mbits/s for high mobility and 1Gbits/s for low
mobility (such as pedestrian and stationary users). 4G has become analogous to high
data speed. Voice and Short Messaging Services were the backbone of communication
till a few years back. 4G revolutionized this existing ecosystem. Mobile
communication is now highly data centric .With the advent of 4G services; Indian
mobile market has witnessed drastic changes. The paper attempts to highlights step by
step evolution of 4G advent in Indian market and traces its impacts.

Introduction of 4G services in India

Airtel was the first company to have launched 4G services using TD-LTE technology
in Kolkata in 2012.It was followed by the launch of 4G in Bangalore, Pune,
Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula. Later, 4G services in India was launched by
Aircel, Vodafone and RJIO. With entry of RJIO in 4G scene the market dynamics
changed completely. Band 3 (1800MHz) (FD-LTE), Band 40 (2300MHz) (TD-LTE),
Band 5 (850MHz) are primarily used for 4G coverage in India.

Gaps filled by 4G communication technology Flexibility

Efficiency and Secured Network: 4G has filled in the gaps of 3G in terms of

flexibility, efficiency, scalability and security to support interfacing with 32 different
types of networks and several new and existing services.3G had a huge limitation of
upload and download speed. Maximum download speed of 3G is 21 Mbps while
upload speed is 5 Mbps, while in 4G maximum download speed is 1 Gbps and upload
of 500 Mbps.4G has replaced the cell based network of 3G with hybrid network.

Covid-19 proves the importance of telecom in India

30-35% of the GDP is enabled by telecommunications in the lockdown out of over

54% of the total services sector contribution.
A mobile first nation, telecom is synonymous to mobility in India. Unfortunately, the
telecommunications have been seen nothing more than a cash cow at many instances.
We all got ‘carried’ away by the sway of digital, forgetting that the backbone of digital
is nothing but telecommunications. Even when we talk of advanced technologies like
pg. 16
AI, IoT, Smart City, etc., it is all dependent on connectivity and the wonderful
orchestra of data connectivity brings in to power up any ‘smart’ and ‘intelligent’
technology.

Since the unavoidable lockdown due to covid-19 pandemic, it is only telecom which is
keeping the economic engines on. Not just economy, but even the social sectors like
health and education are alive only leveraging the power and enabling nature of the
telecommunications.

In India over 54% of the GDP comes from services sector. All of them are not up at
the moment. For instance, travel, hotel and a few more services are completely shut
off. But whatever proportion of the services sector is live, in my estimates 30-35%, it
is only because of the telecom infrastructure that such large scale of economic
activities is still up, despite of a lockdown which allows extremely urgent physical
moment.

Telecommunications has been directly contributing around 6% of the GDP and during
the lockdown, this has gone up 5-6 times, which is huge. While, at the moment it is
acting up as a by-pass or a back-up infrastructure where organisations including the
governments have put up activities via digital mode. Hereafter, many of these
activities are going to stay and the digital ‘jumpstart’ which has resulted due to corona
virus pandemic, will only add to the contribution of digital to the economy. However,
we have to bear it in mind that digital is not just IT, or Electronics or for that matter
telecommunications. It is a play of all the three. Somewhere in the past, the role of
telecommunications was undermined and we were more liking the aesthetic part of the
digital story, which did not primarily come from telecommunications. While we were
loving services like Uber, Swiggy, Netflix and what not, we were not recognising that
it’s the telecom which is enabling all of these.

2020 is a landmark year for the telecommunications in India. We are in the silver
jubilee year of mobility services which first started in 1995, a year after the private
sector was allowed in the sector. In the recent past, the sector has been in the midst of
pg. 17
all controversies and unfortunate events where everyone was looking down at the
sector. However, somewhere the lockdown is making us realise its importance and
relevance in our lives. If at all, we are active socially, economically and politically, it
is only through telecommunication in these difficult times. Let us all celebrate the
power of telecommunications and greet the sector for 25 years of yeoman service to
the nation.

Scalability: The core architecture of present mobile networks does have scalability
issue to cope with future traffic demands due to its high centralized network. 4G
network by virtue of its decentralized architecture provides a sustainable approach to
deal with ever growing amount of mobile data traffic.

Higher bandwidth, huge network capacity along with reduced latency: Compared
to 3G, 4G LTE delivers higher bandwidth, huge network capacity along with reduced
latency, which results in faster network response and more efficient communication.
The factors that drives towards 4G are services that offer better service quality (e.g.
video and sound), more sophisticated volume of information, and more personalized
approach.

 Benefits of 4G communication technology 4G in Business Sector

Mobile workforces of an organization are increasing now-a-days. 4G plays a

significant role in increasing the accessibility of enterprise-level applications. Faster
real-time file sharing, media streaming, and communication between employees has
become a reality with the advent of 4G. 4G improves workforce productivity,
employee motivation and management effectiveness. In the presence of 4G
technology, few of the benefits gained by organizations are: Large file transfer, Rapid
work place setup, Sophisticated Machine to Machine Interaction and Remote
Monitoring Applications, Video Conference, Live Media Collaboration, Remote
Access etc. 4G, in real sense is contributing significantly by virtue of sheer mobility
and flexibility with true broadband speeds and enhanced security.

 4G in Social Sector

pg. 18
 4G has been a blessing for various sectors such as telecommunication,
healthcare, education etc. Telecommunication Sector has been benefited in
many ways like growth of new markets with equally new demands. Healthcare
sector is boosted in terms of online diagnosis; online consultation of
Specialized Doctors, faster and secured patient background access. Two-way
video on a 4G platform enables rural patients to consult Remote Specialists and
saves time and energy of urban patients as well. Telemedicine actually
materialized thanks to 4G. Several organizations have significantly reduced
their costing as instant access of various details; updates etc have been available
online and on real time basis. Educational Institution have now got a wider
spectrum to use for Video conferencing with other schools/colleges, online
guest lectures, Infrastructure tracking, Online tutoring, etc. New Industries are
emerging with escalation in demand for new products and services, which in
turn opens avenues for new enterprises and competition.

 Entertainment Industry

Entertainment industry in India that produces the highest number of movies

compared to any other country in the world is badly crippled due to rampant
piracy. This brings limited revenues from genuine producers. 4G is capable of
restricting this by the use of Digital Signatures, rights and copyrights. Correct
guidance in this direction and awareness can revolutionize the viewing patterns
of a common man.

 Financial Services Industry

4G has accelerated in proliferation of active mobile banking in India with a

better way achieved by using encrypted and imagebased data. It has created a
myriad of opportunities in India's financial services Industry, be it the local
grocery store, Paytm or International Gateways.

 Education, Skill Development and Training

pg. 19
 India is a Youth Centric Country and its youth population has a huge hunger for
33 Education, Skill Development and Training. With affordable mobile high
quality video, the access to non-classroom-based courses finds a huge platform
to grow dramatically in India. These could benefit not only the rural population
but it can also cause a paradigm shift for legacy players such as Public and
Private Universities.

E-commerce Indian E-commerce industry is growing at Exponential Rates.

Online stores like Flipkart, Amazon, Alibaba and Venture Capitalists have
invested billions into Indian E-Commerce. Many B2C and B2B Ecommerce
transactions are now happening over the Internet which was previously not even
dreamt of. Startups, and fast moving incumbents from anywhere in the world
can harvest rich reaps using this unique "4G- storm". Not only business
transactions, nowadays we find that many firms have shifted their Advertising
Budgets from TV and Newspapers towards Internet and Mobiles. All of us have
experienced Advertisements in the middle of a YouTube channel and even for
scoring brownie points in a Mobile Game. M-commerce Thanks to the overall
growth and development of 4G devices, M-commerce has evolved as a
byproduct of E-Commerce. Online purchase apps that can be operated from our
handsets have brought the store in the pocket of a layman. As Internet browsing
becomes cheaper and more accessible, even the rural population is getting
advantage of this vast expansion. With 4G services, millions of subscribers are
benefitted in terms of Government schemes and services. M Governance M
Governance is a subset of e-governance. G2C- Government to Citizen and
G2BGovernment to Businesses are upcoming domains of Governance. Mobile
phones are also considered to be an effective tool in strengthening democracy
through better citizen-government interaction, thus influencing the political
decision making process and making governments accountable for their
activities. With the advent of high speed internet in the form of 4G services,
nine pillars of digital India has got a huge impetus. Delivering timely and
accurate information to citizens is one of the keys to strengthen democracy and
growth of citizen empowerment. Impact of 4G on mobile ecosystem Transition

pg. 20
 from Voice to Data and increase in Data usage Indian Mobile Industry, since its
beginning has been a Voice Centric Industry as maximum revenue was obtained
from it. 2004 onwards, data usage in terms of Internet access came to picture
when GPRS/EDGE service as an upgrade to GSM was offered to the
subscriber. The growth of data in the initial years was very slow. However, with
the advent of the Smart phones, new and faster Internet Technology and
increasing dominance of social networking sites, data usage observed an
upward Trend coupled with the advent of 4G and entry of major private player
like RJIO.

 E-commerce

Indian E-commerce industry is growing at Exponential Rates. Online stores like

Flipkart, Amazon, Alibaba and Venture Capitalists have invested billions into
Indian E-Commerce. Many B2C and B2B Ecommerce transactions are now
happening over the Internet which was previously not even dreamt of. Startups,
and fast moving incumbents from anywhere in the world can harvest rich reaps
using this unique "4G- storm". Not only business transactions, nowadays we
find that many firms have shifted their Advertising Budgets from TV and
Newspapers towards Internet and Mobiles. All of us have experienced
Advertisements in the middle of a YouTube channel and even for scoring
brownie points in a Mobile Game.

 M-commerce

Thanks to the overall growth and development of 4G devices, M-commerce has

evolved as a byproduct of E-Commerce. Online purchase apps that can be
operated from our handsets have brought the store in the pocket of a layman. As
Internet browsing becomes cheaper and more accessible, even the rural
population is getting advantage of this vast expansion. With 4G services,
millions of subscribers are benefitted in terms of Government schemes and
services.

 M Governance
pg. 21
 M Governance is a subset of e-governance. G2C- Government to Citizen and
G2BGovernment to Businesses are upcoming domains of Governance. Mobile
phones are also considered to be an effective tool in strengthening democracy
through better citizen-government interaction, thus influencing the political
decision making process and making governments accountable for their
activities. With the advent of high speed internet in the form of 4G services,
nine pillars of digital India has got a huge impetus. Delivering timely and
accurate information to citizens is one of the keys to strengthen democracy and
growth of citizen empowerment.

OBJECTIVE AND METHODOLOGY

The objectives of paper are to study of evolution of 4G services in India and study its impact
on various stakeholders in the economy including its socio economic benefits, impact of 4G
on usage pattern of mobile users and study impact of 4G communication technology on
mobile operators. Exploratory method was adopted to attain the research objective. Various
books, articles, working papers and websites were referred to gain and interpret responses of
4G services in India. We also study the challenges faced by telecom industry in providing 4G
services in India. We also study how the rates of Internet comes down after the successful
introduction of JIO in telecom sector.

Further we look for the upcoming 5G service in India. In this we study what is 5G and how it
would be useful to us and how this emerging technology will help us.

pg. 22
 Impact of 4G on mobile ecosystem

 Transition from Voice to Data and increase in Data usage

Indian Mobile Industry, since its beginning has been a Voice Centric Industry as
maximum revenue was obtained from it. 2004 onwards, data usage in terms of
Internet access came to picture when GPRS/EDGE service as an upgrade to
GSM was offered to the subscriber. The growth of data in the initial years was
very slow. However, with the advent of the Smart phones, new and faster
Internet Technology and increasing dominance of social networking sites, data
usage observed an upward Trend coupled with the advent of 4G and entry of
major private player like RJIO

pg. 23
Reduction of cost of Mobile Data

With the launch of 4G and entry of new 4G player RJIO, the data access rates per GB
wireless data reduced drastically.

 Reduction in ARPU

Wireless data boom also had a significant bearing on the Telecom Service
Providers. Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) fell drastically thus affecting the
Revenue of the Telecom Service Provider. Predatory Pricing played a very
significant role in this.

pg. 24
  Significant increase in Mobile Internet users

The biggest gain of proliferation of 4G in India is definitely has been a

significant increase of mobile internet users.

 Increase in Tele density

With the proliferation 4G services led by RJIO, teledensity of rural and urban
India has increased on a war footing.

pg. 25
Covid-19 proves the importance of telecom in India

30-35% of the GDP is enabled by telecommunications in the lockdown out of over

54% of the total services sector contribution.

A mobile first nation, telecom is synonymous to mobility in India. Unfortunately, the

telecommunications have been seen nothing more than a cash cow at many instances.
We all got ‘carried’ away by the sway of digital, forgetting that the backbone of digital
is nothing but telecommunications. Even when we talk of advanced technologies like
AI, IoT, Smart City, etc., it is all dependent on connectivity and the wonderful
orchestra of data connectivity brings in to power up any ‘smart’ and ‘intelligent’
technology.

Since the unavoidable lockdown due to covid-19 pandemic, it is only telecom which is
keeping the economic engines on. Not just economy, but even the social sectors like
health and education are alive only leveraging the power and enabling nature of the
telecommunications.

In India over 54% of the GDP comes from services sector. All of them are not up at
the moment. For instance, travel, hotel and a few more services are completely shut
off. But whatever proportion of the services sector is live, in my estimates 30-35%, it
is only because of the telecom infrastructure that such large scale of economic
activities is still up, despite of a lockdown which allows extremely urgent physical
moment.

Telecommunications has been directly contributing around 6% of the GDP and during
the lockdown, this has gone up 5-6 times, which is huge. While, at the moment it is
acting up as a by-pass or a back-up infrastructure where organisations including the
governments have put up activities via digital mode. Hereafter, many of these
activities are going to stay and the digital ‘jumpstart’ which has resulted due to corona
virus pandemic, will only add to the contribution of digital to the economy. However,
pg. 26
we have to bear it in mind that digital is not just IT, or Electronics or for that matter
telecommunications. It is a play of all the three. Somewhere in the past, the role of
telecommunications was undermined and we were more liking the aesthetic part of the
digital story, which did not primarily come from telecommunications. While we were
loving services like Uber, Swiggy, Netflix and what not, we were not recognising that
it’s the telecom which is enabling all of these.

2020 is a landmark year for the telecommunications in India. We are in the silver
jubilee year of mobility services which first started in 1995, a year after the private
sector was allowed in the sector. In the recent past, the sector has been in the midst of
all controversies and unfortunate events where everyone was looking down at the
sector. However, somewhere the lockdown is making us realise its importance and
relevance in our lives. If at all, we are active socially, economically and politically, it
is only through telecommunication in these difficult times. Let us all celebrate the
power of telecommunications and greet the sector for 25 years of yeoman service to
the nation.

pg. 27
  Increased consumption of Online Contents

India saw an Exponential rise in the consumption of online content with the
availability of free data. RJIO claims India‟s data consumption went from 20
rore GB to 120 crore GB in six months, adding that the average consumer
nowadays uses 10GB data per month.

 Free Voice calls

Voice calls became free for all consumers across networks when RJio launched
operations. The company added that both local and STD calls will always be
free on its network, to all networks. Rivals eventually followed suit, offering
prepaid and postpaid packs with bundled free minutes for STD and local voice
calls to all networks.

 Growth of 4G Smart phones

The market for 4G smart phones exploded after RJio services were launched as
everyone had access to the company’s 4G network for free. While 4G handsets
were seeing some traction in the affordable segment since late 2015, post-RJio,
4G VoLTE-capable smart phones started hitting the market for as low as Rs.
2,999. In fact, 95 percent of the smart phones sold in the country in the first
quarter were 4G capable, according to data by IDC and Morgan Stanley
Research.

 Consolidation of Telecom Market

India has seen some huge merger, acquisition in Telecom domain after the
advent of 4G. Vodafone and Idea merged to reduce operating expenses and
create 35 synergy, Bharti Airtel acquired Telenor ASA‟s India Business , Bharti
Airtel acquired TATA group’s consumer mobility business, Bharti Airtel
acquired rights to use spectrum of Videocon, Airtel bought Tikona digital
network’s 4G business, Airtel acquired Augere wireless, Cash less deal was
done by RCOM with MTS, Airtel purchased right to use 2300 MHz spectrum

pg. 28
 from Aircel, RJIO purchased spectrum, mobile tower, fiber and media
convergence nodes from RCOM.

Increased In Number Of Internet User In Past Few Years

pg. 29
Prices Change In Inda After Jio Launch

There’s no doubt Jio’s entry in 2016 is what started the price wars in the Indian
telecom market with rivals Airtel and Vodafone-Idea forced to revise their packs to
give daily data along with unlimited voice calls and free SMS per day to customers.
Before Jio’s entry, every consumers have to pay a much more amount to get a single
gb data for a month and also often relied on a separate dedicated data pack in addition
to talktime for calls, but that changed drastically in 2016. When jio started providing
data packs at very cheap rates, other telecom companies had to cut their price in order
to sustain in telecom market.

Now in India almost 75%-85% peoples are using 4g technology in smartphones,

industry is planning to introduce 5G services in India.

Disadvantages of 4g

Each Phone Network Technology applications has its advantages / disadvantages.

Likewise, 4G has its disadvantages too. This post will discuss them in detail.

These days the evolution of technology is happening at a considerable speedy rate.

Today’s purchased technology has no guarantee that it will remain latest till next
week. Just few years back only we got our hand on 3G technology. It was the best and
fastest data network that a smartphone could had.
We were still in learning stage for 3G and now 4G has appeared all of sudden. We had
just purchased our 3G phone few years back and now it seems outdated to us as it does
not support 4G. We are still in dilemma that we should stick to 3G only or should
move to 4G. But you do not have to stress too much for that now as we are going to
discuss the disadvantages of 4G over 3G in this post.

pg. 30
Disadvantages of 4G Phone Network Technology and its Applications

Here are the five reasons for you to not move for this technology right now

and stick to 3G network only:

Limited Use of Internet and Smartphone

If you are not very fond of using internet or mostly use the phone for voice

calling, then it is better to leave 4G. I will say that you do not need 3G also.

It is better to buy a simple phone instead. It will save your money as well as

your phone’s battery life too.

Battery Consumption

As the speed of 4G is claimed to be 10 times faster than 3G network, it

drains your battery more faster too. If you need your phone more often

and want the battery life, then avoid the use of 4G.

pg. 31
Limited 4G network towers

The technology is very new in India. This technology needs specific towers

for a good network range. As the fitment of new network towers will take

some time, you will certainly face the missing 4G network issue during

your movement from one place to another. This will in turn again slow

down your data speed. In addition, it will suck your battery life even faster

for searching the network. So, it is better to stick to 3G, at least for some

time.

Cost of Phone

As your old 3G phone will not support 4G technology, so you can not use

it even if you have a 4G Sim card. You have to purchase a 4G supported

smart phone to receive 4G network. This will add extra financial burden on

you as the 4G enabled smartphone are quite costly.

pg. 32
Higher data consumption

As the data speed is very fast, it is easier to consume a big amount of data

in a quick time. So you have to keep a close look out on your data limits

according to your data plan. Or else, you will loose a big part of your main

balance in no time.

Introduction of 5G In India

What Is 5G?

A: 5G is the 5th generation mobile network. It is a new global wireless standard

after 1G, 2G, 3G, and 4G networks. 5G enables a new kind of network that is
designed to connect virtually everyone and everything together including
machines, objects, and devices.

5G wireless technology is meant to deliver higher multi-Gbps peak data speeds,

ultra low latency, more reliability, massive network capacity, increased
availability, and a more uniform user experience to more users. Higher
performance and improved efficiency empower new user experiences and
connects new industries.

We saw the launch of 5G in 2019, making fifth generation networks accessible to the
consumer, but what is to come for telecoms firms in this new decade? The European
Union’s action plan confirms implementing uninterrupted 5G in urban areas and
along main transport paths by 2025.

Architecture and key technology of 5G

The architecture of 5G is advanced and is upgraded to tackle the new situation.
Upgradation of the5G network is based upon Cognitive Radio technology which
consists of characteristics such as Capability of thedevice to identify its location as
well as temperature. The function of Cognitive Radio is to act as a transceiver that
matches and respond to the radio frequencies.
The architecture of 5G:
pg. 33
As shown in the figure represents the working model of 5G network architecture

The model of 5G is an IP based model for all the wireless networks. The model
consists of the user terminal which is the main part of the5G architecture. The user
terminal consists of autonomous radio technologies. The function of the radio
technology is to act as an IP link for the internet. The purpose of IP design is to ensure
control data for routing of IP packets related to application connections i.e. interfacing
between user and applications and servers on the internet. The key technology behind
the working of 5G architecture is the Mater core Technology.
Master Core Technology is the converging point for other technologies in the wireless
network. The architecture of Master Core technology allows it to operate in the
parallel multimode including all IP network and 5G mode. The main features of 5G
and network mode are it controls all the network of RAN (Radio access networks) and
Different access networks. The compatibility feature of this technology makes it more
efficient and more powerful.

pg. 34
Emerging benefits of 5g

By adopting 5G we will get improved data rates, enable networking slicing and ultra-
low latency efficiencies. 5G will open new opportunities for network operation,
customer experience and new services for operators. We are seeing the telcos role
change to be visible as both service providers and technology distributors.
Telcos will have to engage with enterprise customers as well as government,
and rethink their sales strategy to allow customers to harness the power of 5G.

 Artificial Intelligence (AI)

AI is increasingly implemented throughout telecommunications, using applications

such as virtual assistants and chatbots to help improve customer
service. AI is also essential for the telecommunication network as it allows
for optimisation and predictive maintenance through predictive analytics AI.

AI allows telecoms to gather actionable business insights from the volumes of data
they collect every day through predictive analytics.
Vodafone saw a 68% improvement in customer satisfaction after introducing their AI
chatbot TOBi.

 Internet of Things (IoT)

There were around 400 million IoT devices with cellular connections at the end of
2016 and that number is projected to reach 1.5 billion in 2022.

If telcos can capitalize on IoT, given the unique selling proposition 5G can bring them,
they put themselves in the running for huge potential profits in a global IoT market
expected to reach more than US$600 billion by 2022.
Global IoT market expected to reach more than US$600 billion by 2022.

pg. 35
  Big Data

In this new decade, Telecommunications companies will continue to capture and

produce evermore data volumes from mobile devices, applications, wearable tech and
wireless information.

All this data however presents security and privacy risks, telcos need to tackle these
security issues to meet regulation compliance as well as ensuring that consumer data is
handled and shared with complete approval from the customer.
Data collected by telecoms firms can be analysed to improve customer service, detect
and test new products, and track and optimise the network.

 DLT

Telcos worldwide are facing a crisis of identity as they are struggling to compete on
offerings other than cost and coverage. While telecommunications are one of the most
important services in the world, it is at the top of every telecom’s strategic agenda to
remain relevant as more than just a commodity. Using DLT is not only a great way to
introduce banking services, but also to provide a payment system that does not incur
high-cost banking fees.

Blockchain has the potential to remove intermediaries or otherwise reduce the friction
between business processes where centralised functions act as bottlenecks. Distributed
ledgers can also be better aligned with other decentralised functions, such as
management of security capabilities as close to the end user as possible.

APPLICATIONS OF 5G
The arrival of 5G will also bring significant applications in various fields.
1. 5G will set a uniform global standard for all users.
2. It will boost the availability of network and allow people to use their computer and
smartphones 24*7.
3. It will transform the world in Wi-Fi zone
4. With its strong signals and network, people will be able to use their devices at
higher altitude also.

pg. 36
FUTURE SCOPE OF 5G
5G is a technology which promises high speed of data, reduces latency and fast
internet speed. It will also give access to unlimited information, entertainment and
communication at ahigh-speed level which will change the lifestyle of Indian mobile
users. At present, the previous technologies (4G and 3G) are still under trials in many
parts of the country. The telecom sector has to think seriously towards the future of
5G and must take necessary steps regarding the transition of the network from 3G to
4G and also towards laying down the network framework for 5G. 5G can be used by
the government as an opportunity for good governance and for creating a good
environment which will boost up the investment in 5G technology.

PROBLEMS IN IMPLEMENTATION OF 5G IN INDIA

A. Lack of Regulatory bodies in India’s Telecom sector

From the advancement of Broadband over last decade. The telecom sector in
India missed good chances in formulating a uniform broadband strategy for
India. 5G needs a proper strategy for its implementation and with lack of
regulatory bodies, it seems impossible for India to achieve in near future.
According to the report of World Bank, the implementation of 5G in India will
accelerate the economic growth of India by 13.8%. Apart from lack of
policymakers, India’s telecom sector is greatly affected by the procedural
delays and their multiple issues. Companies who faced loss in 2G spectrum
scam have clearly left a lesson for other telecom companies to not invest in
India for any future projects. 5G implementation in India will not be in reality
until there is a proper regulatory body which will develop the roadmap for 5G
in India.
B. India lacks in Fiber Infrastructure

Optical Fiber plays a key role in the implementation of any new generation of
network. For the implementation of 5G in India role of Fiber is very important.
It plays a key role in delivering increased data capacity and improve voice
calling quality. Due to lack of Fiber infrastructure, India faces poor quality of
service and call drop issues which indicate towards country’s low investment in
pg. 37
 Fiber and backhaul infrastructure. Only 20% of towers in India are backhauled
compared with 80% in countries like US, China, and Korea focus more on
making policy that gives importance to Fiber deployments.
According to a recent report, India only deploys average 15 million kilometres
of Fiber every year compared to the current demand of at least 50 Kilometers
every year.

C. Last mile Connectivity

Since India lacks Fiber infrastructure it has affected the Last-mile Connectivity
as well. A project name NOFN was launched to improve the last mile
connectivity in India’s rural area connecting all the 2, 50,000 Gram panchayats.
The work was assigned to three telecom companies in the ratio of 70:15:15 but
after two years only limited Gram panchayats were connected. 5G demands
upgradation in the network as well as speed but unfortunately due to lack of last
mile connectivity in rural India and non-uniformity in networking speed
implementation of 5G is still a big dream for India.

D. Low speed of Data and High Rates

Low speed of Data and high rates in India is also a major issue for deployment
of 5G in India. Currently, India ranks at 89th position out of 147 countries in
terms of average internet speed with 6.5mbp/s. The present data speed offered
by companies in India is not constant, especially in rural areas. For
downloading large sized files like HD videos, games high data speed is required
which is not uniform available in India. The data rate requirement for 5G is
1TBPS but India has only 6.5mbp/s average internet speed this is due to lack of
Fiber infrastructure and last mile connectivity.

pg. 38
PROPOSED SOLUTIONS FOR THE PROBLEMS IN IMPLEMENTATION
OF 5G
1.1 MOBILE EDGE COMPUTING

According to the Cisco’s VNI Report, the evolution of cellular networking and
broadband technology will see a rapid increase in global mobile data traffic with
agrowth rate of 47% from 2016 to 2021. In the past few years, smartphones have
become an integral tool for millions of people all around the world. As far as 5G is
concerned it will rely more on high network coverage for mobiles, high data rates. To
deal with these features of 5G role Of MEC (Mobile edge computing) comes into
light.
Mobile edge computing is the framework of the network with features of cloud
computing which provides IT environment at the edge of the cellular network. The
main principle behind the use of MEC is it runs the application and performs
processing tasks close to the cellular customer. With this method congestion network
is reduced and performance of application gets better.

Architecture of MEC for 5G

As shown below is the architecture of MEC for 5G

The Working Model Of MEC

pg. 39
The main parts of MEC architecture are:
1. Mobile edge platform: The function of mobile edge platform is to set the rules of
configuration for user plane traffic. Apart from providing configuration it also
provides services to compose radio network data.
2. Mobile edge orchestrator: Its function is to maintain anoverall view of MEC
servers which helps in determining optimum locations.
3. Mobile edge platform manager: It is responsible for managing MEC
application platform.
4. Virtualized Infrastructure Manager: It acts as a manager for the resources of
virtualized infrastructure including preparation of infrastructure for running software
image.
5. Mobile edge applications: The applications which are part of mobile
edge computing it acts as a platform for them.

How MEC works for 5G:

In 5G networking for MEC to work the key element is 5G RAN (Radio access
network). MEC will use this RAN for edge cloud computing and the mobile network
operators will allow third-party tenants to base station. The application provider will
then host its applications on the edge of the network with high bandwidth and low
latency, then the mobile edge orchestrator will grant them the network information
regarding cell load, bandwidth and the subscriber location. With this networking
module, the telecom companies will remove load and congestion from the main
network.

1.2 Software define network:

SDN (Software define network) is based on the concept of cloud computing which
focuses on programmatically efficient network process to improve the performance
of existing network architecture. The main aim of using SDN is to decentralize
traditional network system into one central network. The main component which
does all the centralization of existing network architecture is control plane. It
consists of two or more than two controllers system where the complete procedure
of centralization takes place.
pg. 40
 SDN architecture working module for 5G: As shown below is the architecture of
SDN for 5G

To achieve the centralization of network inside control plane the network gets
separated into 3 layers
1. Application layer: The function of this layer is to communicate to
SDN controller through API (Application programming interface).

2. Control layer: This layer separates the control plane from the data plane. The
brain of SDN i.e. control plane is located inside control layer. SDN control plane
prepares the logical map for efficient decisions of networks with the help of SDN
application which is present in the application layer.

pg. 41
 3. Infrastructure layer: The last layer of SDN. It is the base of SDN, its function
is to execute SDN data paths and to forward the actual traffic to application layer
and control layer.

 How SDN helps in implementation of 5G:

As mentioned earlier 5G focuses more on reduced latency, high data speed and
low data traffic. SDN plays a vital role in fulfilling all these requirements. SDN
will provide a centralized network architecture for 5G where there will be a
better flow of data as well as minimization of bandwidth which will be helpful
in removing latency. Besides all these facilities it will also provide a way to
control the network redundancy with the help of centralized control plane.

1.3. Smart Antennas:

Smart antennas are the composition of arrays of antennas which is used to convert
radio signals into narrow beams. The main purpose of use of smart antennas is to use
complex signal processing for improving the focus for transmission of signals.

1. How smart antennas work: The working of smart antennas divided into 2 steps
namely : Direction of Arrival Estimation (DOA) method and Beamforming
method.
2. The direction of arrival estimation: In this method of estimation smart antennas
use two algorithms MUSIC (Multiple Signal Classification) and Matrix pencil method
for the estimation of the signal using rotational invariance algorithms. The function of
MUSIC and Matrix pencil method is to find spatial spectrum and to calculate the
DOA (Direction of arrival) from the top point of thespectrum.
3. Use of Smart antennas to boost implementation of 5G: Since 5G is going to use
ahigh data rate of 10 GB/s and network capacity of more than 10,000 times than the
existing network. To achieve this target telecom company will need an extra
spectrum of broadband. To help companies achieving this target Smart antennas
system will play a crucial role by increasing network performance capacity beyond
what today exists. Deployment of smart antennas will provide direct communications,
will limit interference and will improve the capacity of existing cellular networking.
pg. 42
3. Beamforming: Use of this method is to create radiation pattern in the arrays of
antennas. The pattern of radiation is achieved by the addition of phases of signal
towards the location of the desired mobile targets using a finite impulse response delay
line filter. FIR reduces the minimum mean square error between actual and desired
beam pattern formation. The algorithms used for beamforming are the steepest descent
and LMS algorithms.

Beam Formation

1.4 Deep Fiber:

To lay down any network technology role of fiber is very important. As mentioned in
the section of problems in the deployment of 5G India lacks in fiber infrastructure and
last mile connectivity and only 20% of towers are upgraded for 5G technology. Deep
fiber plays an important role in dealing with problems of last mile connectivity and
fiber infrastructure. Deep fiber is the process in which MSO (Multi-server operator)
deploys fiber closer to customers for better service. The main work of deep fiber is to
remove amplifiers and to push optical-electrical conversion closer to users which
results in increase bandwidth potential.

pg. 43
 1. Why Deep Fiber is important for 5G: The previous generation of broadband
technology (3G and 4G) were dependent on broader blocks of spectrum and
improved spectral efficiency for maximum results in higher speed and capacity.
In the case of 5G, it is totally different the technology of 5G will depend on the
use of higher frequencies and densification. Deployment of fiber closer to the
customer will generate an existing gateway for increased data traffic from that
densification. In the past few years, use of home spots and hotspots require high-
speed broadband connections. Users nowadays depend much more on home
spots and hotspots for solving high data speed. Without the deployment of Deep
Fiber, it is impossible to support the mobile data traffic increase between 2016
and 2021.
2. 2. Apart from increased data traffic the second main reason that is necessary for
deployment of Deep Fiber in India is to increase broadband service choice for
customers. Deep Fiber will play a major role in nation’s infrastructure for
providing customers with high-speed broadband connections in all parts of the
country at an affordable price.

pg. 44
CONCLUSION
4G although has surely been a blessing for India. It has given a major and huge fillip
to digital economy in India. With the advent of high speed internet in the form of 4G
services, major components of digital economy like E-commerce, digital payment, use
of IT/ITeS are on a roll. Benefits of Egovernance are on the finger tip. On the other
side, with cut throat competition and higher operating expenses financial health of the
telecom operators had a significant beating. In spite of this fact, 4G has been
expanding at a rapid pace across the country, and networks are being upgraded from
slower 2G services. We are now looking at 5G, the sophisticated and far advance
version of 4G. key aim of 5G will be to improve Quality of Service further and extend
the horizon of services like IOT( Internet of things) over a broader geographic area. In
a nut shell, 4G has really impacted India‟s socio economic fabric in a positive manner
for betterment of its population.
Also through this paper, I have tried to study the problems for the deployment of 5G in
India, its solutions, applications and its future scope. 5G will transform the current
network architecture of India into a new level it will help in raising the economic level
of India as well as it will help India to improve its ranking in Internet speed. India will
get benefits of 5G only if the current problems in the deployment of 5G will be
removed by the government.

pg. 45
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