Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled high-speed 5G telecom services at the annual India Mobile Congress in New Delhi on Saturday.
Telecom companies including Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea are expected to make a phased introduction of 5G services in Asia’s third-largest economy over the coming year, AP reported.
“This event will be etched in history,” Mr Modi said at the technology forum. "It is a step towards a new era in the country and the beginning of infinite opportunities.”
5G technology will provide seamless coverage, high data rate, low latency and highly reliable communications. It will increase energy efficiency, spectrum efficiency and network efficiency, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office on Saturday.
The government said that the cumulative economic impact of 5G on India is expected to reach $450 billion by 2035.
Fifth generation technology offers up to 20 times faster internet speed compared with 4G, proponents said.
It can also be used in new-age technology such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality and blockchain, which in turn can boost productivity in industries.
The introduction of 5G is part of the push by Mr Modi’s government to accelerate growth in India’s digital sector. New Delhi, under its Digital India campaign banner, expects the value of the entire sector to reach $1 trillion by 2025.
The global 5G technology market was valued at $5.13bn in 2020 and is expected to hit about $798bn by 2030, growing at a compound annual rate of 65.8 per cent from 2021 to 2030, Allied Market Research said.
China, the world's second-largest economy and most populous country, had the highest 5G penetration at 84 per cent in January.
This came amid a push by local telecoms operators and the readiness of original equipment manufacturers to market competitively priced 5G smartphones to consumers, a Counterpoint Research study showed in March.
India might have started late, but we will finish first by rolling out 5G services that are of higher quality and more affordable
Mukesh Ambani,
chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries
“India might have started late, but we will finish first by rolling out 5G services that are of higher quality and more affordable,” said Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries.
Jio will launch 5G telephony services across India by December 2023, he said.
“India is aspiring to become developed by 2047. 5G is the foundational technology that unlocks the full potential of other 21st-century technology,” Mr Ambani said at the India Mobile Congress event, which was jointly organised by the Department of Telecommunications and the Cellular Operators Association of India.
"The technology can bring affordable, superior education and skill development to ordinary Indians and deliver high-quality healthcare to rural and remote areas," he added.
Reliance Industries will invest 2tn rupees ($25bn) to unveil its 5G services in India’s four largest cities in October.
Reliance Jio Infocomm, the telecoms arm of Reliance Industries, will offer 5G services in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata within the next two months, Mr Ambani said during the company’s annual general meeting in August.
Reliance Jio Infocomm bought airwaves worth more than $11bn at a local spectrum auction as it sought to cement its edge over smaller rivals in setting up faster 5G networks in India.
Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel said it will roll out its 5G services in eight Indian cities on Saturday and has set March 2024 as the deadline for countrywide coverage for as many as 5,000 towns, AP reported.
Mr Modi gave regulatory certainty to the telecom sector with the launch of 5G, said Ashwini Vaishnaw, India’s Minister of Railways, Communications and Electronics and Information Technology.
“Telecom is the gateway to Digital India,” he said.
The telecom sector has, in recent years, experienced a lot of disruption, especially after Jio launched its services in 2016.
The company's cut-price deals intensified competition in the sector to the extent that it pushed a few rivals out of business and accelerated the pace of consolidation in the industry.
The broader digital sector has grown rapidly and has been a magnet for foreign investors, with Reliance's digital division Jio Platforms attracting investment from Google and Facebook.
With super fast data speed, 5G is among the building blocks of Internet of Things and virtual reality and can lead to dramatic improvements in live streaming and gaming capabilities in India, according to analysts.
However, they said that a large-scale introduction of 5G could end up taking double the time as India is already behind the curve compared with many other countries.
Even in places such as the US, the transition to 5G is proving slow.
“5G will be an expensive roll-out,” said Utkarsh Sinha, managing director of Bexley Advisors, a boutique investment bank based in Mumbai.
“On top of the high bids placed by leading contenders, the equipment and installation costs are also exponentially high.”
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder turbo
Transmission: CVT
Power: 170bhp
Torque: 220Nm
Price: Dh98,900
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
Gully Boy
Director: Zoya Akhtar
Producer: Excel Entertainment & Tiger Baby
Cast: Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Kalki Koechlin, Siddhant Chaturvedi
Rating: 4/5 stars
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Company name: Play:Date
Launched: March 2017 on UAE Mother’s Day
Founder: Shamim Kassibawi
Based: Dubai with operations in the UAE and US
Sector: Tech
Size: 20 employees
Stage of funding: Seed
Investors: Three founders (two silent co-founders) and one venture capital fund
EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Four-day collections of TOH
Day Indian Rs (Dh)
Thursday 500.75 million (25.23m)
Friday 280.25m (14.12m)
Saturday 220.75m (11.21m)
Sunday 170.25m (8.58m)
Total 1.19bn (59.15m)
(Figures in millions, approximate)
