Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday inaugurated the country’s first 5G testbed, which will allow startups and industry players to test their products on-site, reducing dependency on overseas facilities.
Speaking at the Silver Jubilee celebrations of India’s Telecoms Regulatory Authority (TRAI), the Prime Minister said the 5G testbed, which has been set up at a cost of around £220 million, is a major step towards self-sufficiency towards India’s critical and modern technologies in the telecoms sector .
“I invite the country’s young colleagues, researchers and companies to use this test facility to build 5G technology. This is a great opportunity, especially for our startups, to test their products,” he said.
The Prime Minister added that India’s own 5G standard has been developed in the form of 5Gi, which the country is very proud of, and will play a big role in bringing 5G technology to the country’s villages.
He said 5G technology would also bring positive changes in the country’s governance, ease of life and doing business. This would spur growth in all sectors including agriculture, healthcare, education, infrastructure and logistics, Mr Modi said. “This will also increase comfort and create many employment opportunities. Rapid rollout of 5G requires efforts from both government and industry,” he added.
“Following the desperation, frustration, corruption and political paralysis of the 2G era, the country has rapidly transitioned from 3G to 4G and now to 5G and 6G,” the prime minister said.
