India Mobile Congress 2019, arguably the biggest tech event in India, is underway and on the first day while addressing the media Jio Director Mahendra Nahata said that India is “poised to become a $5 trillion economy by 2024” and jump to $10 trillion by 2030, while adding that telecommunications will play a significant role in this growth.
While the $5 trillion economy is arguable if the current slump is taken into account, among other things such as the high rate of unemployment — one of the highest historically according to a report by Somesh Jha of Business Standard — telecommunication unarguably will be one of the biggest enablers of the country’s economy.
The number of mobile internet users, as well as users overall, increased exponentially following the launch of Reliance Jio that provided 4G internet at affordable costs. Jio’s move forced other telecom companies to either adapt to the change or die. If not for the disruption caused by Jio, the idea of digital India wouldn’t have a footing and companies such as Paytm won’t have a prospective user base the size that exists today.
“Telecommunication is crucial for growth and modernity. It plays a vital role for development of society. It is a prime support service needed for growth of all sections of economy. Today India has the highest mobile data usage with monthly usage of
more than 9 GB per subscriber including those in the rural areas,” said Mahendra Nahata.
India ranking number one in mobile data consumption can be directly attributed to the wave of new first-time internet users of the country. The cost of data has come down drastically and the usage patterns show a rise in consumption.
“Today India has the highest mobile data usage with monthly usage of more than 9 GB per subscriber including those in the rural areas.”
“In the last 3 years the Data usage price has come down tremendously to the extent of Rs.10 per GB from a level of Rs.500 per GB which has made data usage affordable even to the economically weaker section of the society. Today we can proudly say that digital divide has almost ended in India.”
“Further to establish India’s leadership in emerging 5G technology we also need to harmonize with international spectrum allocations. The prices of 5G spectrum need to be critically relooked at. Higher floor prices will lead to 5G networks being unviable and therefore getting delayed.”
