Can 5G develop the startup ecosystem evolution? Have a look at what Qualcomm India President says.

Qualcomm India and SAARC president Rajen Vagadia ​ say now our 9,000-odd tech​  startups can only develop for 4G while the earth has moved to 5G. So is that the epidemic the proper time to switch on 5G in India? “Without the pandemic also​ 5G would be great".

Underlining one among the less talked about impacts of India’s inordinate delay in taking a turn to the rollout of 5G networks, Qualcomm India & SAARC​  ​ president Rajen Vagadia says this​ may leave our startup ecosystem at an enormous disadvantage.

In a video call from the US, Vagadia explained that there will be a dramatic change within the standard of products if India’s 9,000-odd tech startups had access to 5G networks. “You will​ see a dramatic change in what they deliver. So let’s assume we don’t do 5G for the subsequent​  few years, these startups probably won’t experience what 5G could have given them, whether it had been high bandwidth low latency, or security. Hence, whatever they are going to develop on what they need, is 4G,” warned Vagadia. 

San Diego-based Qualcomm is the most important mobile chipmaker on the planet with​ a huge workforce in India also.

Vagadia said that as a result the solutions developed by these startups won't be probably meant for the earth, which has already moved to 5G. “And they're going to not be as efficient, or​  innovative, as they might are if they might have designed it on 5G,” he explained, adding​       how this can mean Indian companies would wish to play catch-up for long.

So is that the pandemic the proper time to switch on 5G in India? “Without the pandemic also 5G would be great. Let’s assume the pandemic wasn't there, the consumption (of data) wasn’t stopping and would have continued rising,” he said, adding how unfortunately in India the spectrum is not the maximum amount as we might need. “In the 4G and 3G world, if you​  don’t have huge chunks of spectrum, that’s exactly when it gets loaded with technologies that keep optimizing, but beyond some extent, it does start the exposure .” “Unfortunately you can’t perpetually increase the number of base stations. So, albeit the pandemic wasn't there, trust me, 5G was super essential", Vagadia stated.

However, he believes the pandemic has confounded things further. “As the pandemic started,​    networks were throttling the OTT apps. That’s how we are saving. To use it somewhere you're cutting from elsewhere and managing it.” He said if work from home continues, 5G​    can encourage technologies like a video game which can let users be in the office virtually.

“Enhanced mobile broadband, or EMBB​ , was imagined to be one of the first deliverables of a​  5G network followed by home broadband where you don’t need fibre for last-mile connectivity. Then there's low latency high security uses like robotics,” Vagadia explained, how 5G is​ different from earlier generational shifts in telecom and much deeper, “almost kind of fabric​ ”.​ This also means most of the new use cases of a technology like this are being developed. “Most of the applications will develop after the technology is out there .”

Vagadia, who has over 20 years of experience in telecom, said the way 5G is supposed, “it will​   have such tons of an impact on every aspect of our life”. “That’s why it’s more sensible to​ start now than to attend because then we’ll be only implementing watching somebody else and doing whatever they have done,” he added. “But plenty of our problems are getting to be​    very unique,” he qualified, giving the instance of village broadband where 5G are getting to be​     able to solve the matter of last-mile connectivity without fibre.

“It’s time we become a pacesetter rather than just trying to chase something especially with numerous startups, they get to urge the advantage.”