IMC 2022 highlights: PM Modi inaugurates 5G at IMC 2022

The Prime Minister has now concluded his speech inaugurating 5G network servcies in India. With the launch of the next-gen network, we now expect telecom players to soon reveal plan and availability details.

Prime Minister Modi also mentions that India had 25 crore internet connections back in 2014; a number that today stands now at 85 crore. More internet users are coming onboard from rural areas. 5G will play a key role in how users new and old will benefit from the internet and its possibilities.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to stage on the occasion to speak about the benefits of 5G in India and how the service will help the country's technological revolution. Modi also spoke about key pillars that will support the Digital India movement, including the need for affordable technology and a widespread network.

He also stresses on manufacturing, adding how it will ensure a reduction in device costs. "Till 2014 we used to import 100 per cent of our mobile phones. That's why we decided to become 'atmanirbhar' in this particular area. In India, we now have 200 mobile phone manufacturing units now," Modi added (translated).

5G will also power Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) use-cases across the industry, especially in sectors like education, where children will have access to VR classrooms, enabling them to learn with real-time visual aids that offer a better understanding than words alone.

A showcase shows how among other use-cases, 5G can help with the safety of workers across construction sites. This includes a tracking system that can prevent accidents among workers by preventing them from going into dangerous areas by accident. 5G is also set to help speed up similar processes by ensuring fast connectivity.

The next demonstration shows how 5G can be used to help ensure safety of construction workers. The technology is being showcased by VI. 

The first 5G demo shows how it can be used in education. The technology can be used to conduct virtual classes, where a teacher might not be physically present in the class. The demo is using technology built by Jio. 

We are now getting 5G demos, aka what the technology is capable of achieving. The first demo shows how Jio's 5G system can be used to help schools in India. 

Well PM Modi has officially launched 5G in India with the press of a button. 

PM Modi has officially opened IMC 2022. 

Kumar Mangalam Birla now on stage to talk ahead of the 5G launch in India. He thanks the Prime Minister for acknowledging the industry's role during the pandemic and the reforms in the telecom sector. 

Sunil Bharti Mittal, founder and chairman of Airtel, is on stage. He thanks the Prime Minister for his Digital India vision. Says that without that particular vision, the country would have suffered during the pandemic. 

Mukesh Ambani says that Jio will bring 5G to the entire country, including rural areas by December 2023. 

RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani comes on stage to give his opening remarks. He thanks the PM and says that every policy, every document of the government is skillfully drafted to help India become a developed economy. He adds that 5G is much more than the next-generation, calls it the foundational technology to unlock other technologies such as AI, AR/VR, blockchain, metaverse. 

Cabinet minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on stage. He's talking about how telecom is involved and critical to India's growth. He says PM Modi has called the telecom sector as a critical one. He also mentions how permissions and approvals are given easily in the telecom sector and that PM Modi has provided it with regulatory certainty. 

Mos Devusinh Chauhan on stage right now. He's is opening the launch event with a welcome speech as PM Modi gets ready launch 5G services in the country. Chauhan thanks the PM in his speech. 

Anil Kumar Jain, CEO of the National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) said, “5G is going to bring forth the much needed internet revolution to India as has been experienced globally. Internet, internet governance and all applications around it are expected to grow and reach far and wide across the country. This will provide opportunities for the country and its allied businesses- MSMEs, startups, creator industries, its digital economy and also seen benefits of digital technology and revolution both in India's urban and rural areas.”

Madhav Sheth, CEO realme India, has said in a statement that the company will roll OTA updates for its devices to ensure that all the users can make the most of 5G. "With 5G being officially available now, we are looking forward to exploring the numerous opportunities it provides to us and will be directing our efforts into making this technology even more accessible to users. We have partnered with the leading telcos in India and have curated a host of bundle offers for our users. 85% of our devices already support SA and 100% of our devices will have full SA support by October," he said.  

PM Narendra Modi experienced the use cases of 5G through Jio Glass. He also spent time understanding the indigenous development of end-to-end 5G technology by Jio. Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, MoS Telecom Devusinh Chauhan, RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani and RJIL Chairman Akash Ambani were also present. 

5G in India: A total of thirteen cities are set to get a taste of 5G networks first in the country. Check out the full list by clicking on the image below.

5G won't just be about accessing fast internet on your phone. It also brings several enterprise users and holds big potential for the government as well in areas such as disaster management, agriculture, etc. Right now the PM is getting a demo on how 5G will be used in disaster management, ensuring faster alerts.  

PM Modi is currently getting a demonstration of 5G capabilities and what all use cases it promises. Reliance Jio's Akash Ambani is also present to showcase these 5G use cases to the Prime Minister. 

5G will roll out in 13 cities first.  The list includes: Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Pune, Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad and Jamnagar. 

PM Modi is at IMC's venue in Pragati Madan. He is currently being given a demo of 5G's capabilities from Jio executives. 

The YouTube livestream for the 5G launch has started. PM Modi has reached the venue for India Mobile Congress and 5G services will roll out soon. He will give likely give a speech as well. 

The event will start 10 am, which is in another 10 minutes or so. Our live blog will have all the updates from the announcement today. 

The other important question when it comes to 5G is cost. The expectation is that these plans will cost more than the current 4G ones. In an earlier report, Vodafone Idea (VIL) Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Ravinder Takkar, said that since the company has spent a significant amount in acquiring spectrum, there is a need to charge a premium for 5G services. VIL acquired spectrum worth Rs 18,800 crore which includes radiowaves in the mid-band (3300 MHz band) in 17 priority circles and spectrum in 26 GHz band in 16 circles for 5G services. 

Meanwhile, Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani had said during their AGM, that 5G should not be limited to just elite few and should be made available for all. Does this mean Jio's 5G rates could be more affordable? Again, we will have to wait and see if that ends up being the case. 

The big question is whether you smartphone will support 5G. Keep in mind that the best phone has support for all the 12 major 5G bands. But in India, eight bands: n28, n5, n8, n3, n1, n41, n77, and n78 are the most important ones and if a phone supports these, then you should have 5G working on your device. Phones such as the iPhone 14, iPhone 13, iPhone 12 series, the Nothing Phone (1) Pixel 6a, Samsung’s Galaxy S22 series, the OnePlus 10T, Redmi Note 11 Pro+ , Redmi 11 Prime 5G, etc support most of these bands.  Also keep in mind that 5G is not rolling out all the over country in one go and in select cities for now. Read more about it here.

In Jio's case, 5G will roll out in the cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai in October by Diwali. The exact should get confirmed today. Jio is planning for a nationwide rollout of 5G by December 2023. According to Department of Telecom (DoT), 5G will be rolled out to 13 cities during the first phase. The full list includes Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Pune, Gandhinagar, Ahemdabad and Jamnagar for the first phase. 

With 5G networks, your phone will also need to support this in order for 5G to work on it. There are several 5G-ready phones in the country already across price points from all major brands be it Xiaomi, Redmi, Realme, Samsung, Oppo, Vivo, Motorola, OnePlus, Apple and others. But users should note that for standalone (SA) 5G-- which is what Jio is bringing--many phones will require an OTA (over the air) update to switch to it. Regarding SIM, Airtel has already said the existing SIM will automatically upgrade to 5G. With Jio, we should get more clarity soon on whether a dedicated 5G SIM will be needed. 

While Prime Minister Modi will officially announce the launch of 5G networks in the country, this doesn't mean your phone will actually switch to 5G today. Keep in mind that this announcement will likely give us confirmed dates for when 5G services begin rolling out in various cities. Of course, metros such as Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata will get 5G first as operators like Jio and Airtel have already confirmed. We will likely see demos of what 5G can achieve today as well-- including the examples of the super fast speed that it is promises.