Hyderabad: Urging the policymakers to accelerate roll out of 5G telecom services in the country, Reliance Industries Ltd Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani has said that India should seize this opportunity to boost the hardware manufacturing sector.
Speaking at the India Mobile Congress 2020 in virtual mode, Ambani Tuesday said that 5G rollout would see a growing demand for digital hardware in the country.
“As the digitalisation of the Indian economy and Indian society picks up speed, the demand for digital hardware will grow enormously,” he said.
Expressing concerns over the dependence on hardware imports, Mukesh Ambani has said the county cannot rely on large-scale imports in this area of critical national need.
However, he was optimistic about India’s current core strengths and prospects.
“India has developed world-class strengths in chip design. I clearly foresee India becoming a major hub for the state-of-the-art semiconductor industry,” he added.
Echoing similar views at the event, Sunil Mittal, Chairman of Bharti Airtel, said India will benefit from the growing 5G ecosystem across the world.
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"I think India in two-three years' time will be ready to receive the benefit of the investments that the globe would have made on 5G standard and 5G ecosystems," he said.
Interestingly, when the stalwarts of the telecom industry were deliberating over India’s 5G capabilities at the Indian Mobile Congress, Nokia, a Finnish multinational company, announced that it has begun the manufacturing of next generation 5G equipment in its Chennai plant.
“Nokia was the first to manufacture the 5G New Radio in India, and it is now producing the cutting-edge Nokia AirScale massive Multiple Output (mMIMO) solution,” the company said in a release.
Massive MIMO is a key element of 5G technology that delivers high capacity, especially in densely populated locations.
“It demonstrates our innovative manufacturing capabilities and our belief in India’s skill and talent to produce the best-in-class equipment. This will enable us to support Indian operators as they prepare to launch 5G,” Sanjay Malik, Senior Vice President and Head of India Market at Nokia, said on the occasion.
