Budget 2023: India To Set Up 100 Labs To Develop 5G Service Apps

The government will set up 100 labs for developing 5G apps in engineering institutions across the country for various verticals, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.

The labs will cover, among others, apps such as smart classrooms, precision farming, intelligent transport systems and health care applications.

The government will set up 100 labs for developing 5G apps in engineering institutions across the country for various verticals, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said while presenting the Union Budget 2023-24 in Parliament on Wednesday.

"One hundred labs for developing applications using 5G services will be set up in engineering institutions to realise a new range
of opportunities, business models, and employment potential. The labs will cover, among others, applications such as smart classrooms, precision farming, intelligent transport systems and health care applications," FM Sitharam added.

The next-gen telecom service, 5G promises better-than-broadband speeds and it was introduced in the country during the India Mobile Congress (IMC) in October 2022. Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel led the rollout of 5G services across the country, launching in four and eight cities, respectively at the time. As months passed, however, both Jio and Airtel have launched 5G services in more than 50 cities, including the likes of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Varanasi and even reaching out to states such as Rajasthan, Assam, among others.

"We believe 5G will have country-specific use cases and India is no different. In fact, India can set an example for the rest of the world. These 100 labs will help to create and unlock new user experiences around 5G," Tarun Pathak, Research Director At Counterpoint Research said. 

Earlier last week, Reliance Jio announced the largest-ever launch of its 5G services across 50 cities in India. Jio's "True 5G" was rolled out across 17 states/union territories, taking the count to 184 cities.

Meanwhile, the global 5G service revenue is expected to reach $315 billion in 2023, rising from $195 billion this year, says a recent report. This represents growth of over 60 per cent in a single year for operator-billed 5G service revenue, according to Juniper Research.

"Despite the growth of the Internet of Things, revenue from consumer connections will continue to be the cornerstone of 5G operator revenue increase," said research co-author Olivia Williams.