5G technology is expected to transform and improve telecom and other sectors in many ways. Global investment in 5G technology is predicted to top $3.5 trillion [1] from 2020 to 2035.
5G is creating euphoria among consumers and telecom service providers because of the immense opportunities it can unlock for them. 5G is anticipated to be much faster, efficient, and smarter compared to 3G and 4G technologies. For example, 5G speed is expected to be 100 times greater than 4G, which can create unfathomable possibilities.
5G-driven industry applications are likely to generate sales of over $12 trillion[1]. This technology promises to become the dominant WAN and LAN technology in the next two decades.
How will 5G Help Businesses?
With 5G, enterprises building new campuses, ports, or factories can significantly minimize their use of wired connections. Private 5G deployment is likely to increase at business locations as this wireless technology offers improved speed and capacity, reduced latency, and more.
5G private networks can benefit manufacturing facilities, designated or notified locations in geographies, large campuses, buildings, and the mining and healthcare sectors.
In India, 5G-driven IoT (Internet of Things) applications have uses in industry 4.0 and smart cities. Globally, the two fields account for about 44% of 5G technology applications[1]. Other areas where 5G has uses include smart transport, energy management, surveillance, remote machinery control, and sensor-based plant monitoring.
Countries like South Korea, China, and the US are currently the leaders in full 5G roll-out. In India, 5G trials have already begun. DoT anticipates investments of over $100 billion in 5G infrastructure in India up till 2025[1]. The nation is expected to leapfrog other countries by investing in smart infrastructure networks straight away, bypassing physical infrastructure.
5G in India is expected to aid manufacturers in keeping their factories linked to suppliers as well as other stakeholders in real-time. 5G-enabled robotics can enhance process efficiency, while augmented reality and IoT can improve back-office processes and automation, respectively.
Chennai: Essential for 5G Gears
A leading global telecom giant with an equipment manufacturing base in Chennai has picked India as one of its production centres for creating 5G systems. The company is also likely to make investments in testing tools for its 5G equipment.
Importance of Data Centres for the Telecom Industry
As the IT and telecom industries start to converge, data centres in Chennai and other Indian cities are expected to play a vital role in the business strategies of telecom operators. Data centres are the foundation on which telecom providers will look to enhance the user experience.
For each telecom operator, reliable IT infrastructure is crucial, and this is delivered by data centres in Chennai and other places. The IT industry has invested in virtualization and data centres for years and therefore has first-mover benefits. Traditional IT giants and leading internet companies have established strong cloud businesses.
Data centres provide the needed IT resources to support the future business models of telecom operators. For this purpose, data centre providers need to re-architect their facility infrastructure, which would enable data centres to orchestrate automated, managed, and unified public and private cloud as well as traditional IT resources to help telecom businesses deliver unified service to their customers.
A major challenge for the telecom industry is to ensure business continuity so that players can seamlessly migrate to future technologies like 5G. Leading data centre providers operate facilities that perform things like pre-testing and pre-integration besides collaborating with major telecom vendors. These operators are creating solutions to build architecture and track data centre KPIs and are investing in worldwide ICT infrastructure improvement centres.
To satisfy the needs of end-users, the telecom sector is working closely with the IT segment, especially data centres. The focus of telecom providers needs to shift from their own requirements to those of their network users. For this, telecom companies need to build operational models based on automatic, real-time systems and not manual ones. To achieve this purpose, they need new IT solutions and systems, which can be provided by data centres.
Leading data centres in Chennai and other cities offer their telecom clients data centre migration, security, and consolidation services, enabling them to migrate to the technologies of the future gradually and seamlessly. STT GDC India operates three data centres in Chennai and 15 more facilities in eight other cities.
