India currently faces a telecom demand-supply gap of 2.41 million workers, a figure expected to rise 3.8 times by 2030
India will require a total of 22 million skilled workers in 5G-focused industries by 2025, in areas such as cloud computing, robots, and the Internet of Things (IoT), according to a recent report by India’s Telecom Sector Skill Council (TSSC).
The report highlighted that India currently faces a telecom demand-supply gap of 2.41 million, a figure expected to rise 3.8 times by 2030. The main challenge is that only 40% of India’s graduates in computer science, information technology and maths are employable in the technology sector, due to a mismatch between academic standards and industry needs, the report added.
“The telecom sector is the third-largest industry in India that accounts for roughly 6.5% of all foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow and also by 2027, India is anticipated to account for 11% of all 5G subscriptions worldwide. India has a good chance to close the growing demand-supply gap by 2030 with the proper reskilling and hiring strategies that target adjacent talent in Tier-II & III cities and university supply,” said Arvind Bali, CEO of the Telecom Sector Skill Council.
TSSC was jointly established by the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), the Indian Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA), and the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) with the aim of guaranteeing an adequate supply of skilled labor force to boost productivity in the telecom sector.
India is forecast to reach 700 million 5G subscribers by the end of 2028, as local carriers are carrying out an aggressive strategy in terms of 5G deployment, according to a previous edition of Ericsson’s Mobility report.
The report showed that 5G technology will account for 57% of total mobile subscriptions in India by that year, adding that eMBB and FWA are already emerging as the initial use cases for 5G.
4G subscriptions are forecast to decline from 820 million in 2022 to 500 million by 2028, it added. Ericsson said that the expected number of total mobile subscriptions in India is estimated to grow to 1.2 billion in 2028.
Average data traffic per smartphone in the India region is projected to grow from 26 GB per month in 2022 to around 62 GB per month in 2028, a CAGR of 16%. Meanwhile, total mobile data traffic is estimated to grow from 18 EB per month in 2022 to 58 EB per month in 2028, growing at a CAGR of 22%, according to the Ericsson report. The vendor explained that this forecast growth is chiefly driven by high growth in the number of smartphone users and increased average usage per smartphone.
Indian carriers Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio Infocomm have already launched 5G in thousands of towns and cities across India, while Vodafone Idea is still working to launch 5G services.
