5G smartphone sales in India surpassed the 100 million mark for the first time in May 2023
The mass adoption of 5G services in India is being hindered by patchy network coverage and the lack of affordable 5G smartphones in the local market, according to a recent report by Counterpoint Research.
Although 5G technology was introduced in the country in October 2022 by local carriers Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio Infocomm, it is still not widely available across the nation.
Tarun Pathak, research director at Counterpoint, noted that there is a long way to go in terms of achieving widespread 5G network coverage in the Asian nation.
Also, the report highlighted the lack of awareness about the use cases of 5G and the limited availability of 5G handsets priced below INR10,000 ($135). These factors have contributed to the slower adoption of 5G services in the Indian market, according to the research firm.
“The 5G penetration will continue to increase with multiple launches and high demand for 5G phones among consumers, ahead of the upcoming festive season,” said Shilpi Jain, senior analyst at Counterpoint Research. To meet this demand, original equipment manufacturers are launching 5G smartphones in the $135-200 range, which is driving the acceleration of 5G adoption, the analyst said.
India’s 5G smartphone sales surpassed the 100 million mark for the first time in May 2023, according to Counterpoint data.
Indian carriers Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio Infocomm are not seeing killer use cases of 5G technology which can help operators to monetize their investments in the 5G field.
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According to the chief regulatory officers of Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio, the low average revenue per user (ARPU) and right-of-way (RoW) issues are among the immediate pressing challenges that may affect the progress of 5G deployments in India.
“Definitely there is no killer use cases in India right now, even though societies like Korea have got gaming, which is driving the 5G uptake,” said Rahul Vatts, chief regulatory officer at Bharti Airtel.
“I think 5G is going to be a great leveler as far as our country is concerned, and we are going to really catch up with the industrialized nations. I already see a lot of use cases coming up globally,” Vatts added.
Reliance Jio Infocomm has been rapidly expanding its 5G network using Standalone (SA) architecture since October 2022 and has the goal of reaching nationwide coverage with its 5G network by the end of 2023.
The telco has already deployed its 5G service in 6,083 cities across 36 states in India, according to the carrier’s website.
Meanwhile, rival operator Bharti Airtel has already deployed 5G across thousands of towns and cities across India. Airtel has opted for Non-Standalone technology (NSA) for its 5G rollout.
Vodafone Idea recently confirmed “advanced talks” with a number of vendors in order to define its final strategy for the deployment of 5G in India. Vodafone previously said it was negotiating loans with local banks in order to secure the necessary funds to launch 5G.