5G launch in India: Here’s what CXOs of Nokia, MediaTek, Tech Mahindra and others said

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched 5G services in India at India Mobile Congress 2022 (IMC 2022). Several smartphone makers and industry leaders hailed the 5G launch. The next generation network will not only empower users across India with faster internet speed, seamless coverage, low latency, and reliable communications but also help companies scale up their businesses in areas such as remote data monitoring as well as edge computing. Here’s what industry leaders including CXOs of Nokia, MediaTek, Tech Mahindra, among others have to say on 5G launch in India.
Sanjay Malik, Sr. Vice President and Head of India Market, Nokia
“Nokia is committed towards and fully prepared to support our partners in ushering in the 5G era in India. We welcome all measures taken by the Government to facilitate the deployment of 5G technology. Our global experience in 5G rollouts shows that it will provide a strong impetus to socioeconomic growth and industrial development, contributing to the GDP and mission of Digital Bharat.”

Anku Jain, Managing Director, MediaTek India
“5G will usher in a new wave of opportunities for businesses, unlocking the next level of growth for the country. More than just seamless connectivity and fast speed, 5G technology is going to revolutionise businesses and industries, enhancing advancements, and innovation & R&D while also improving customer experiences. 5G will be a key driver for Digital India initiatives and realising Design in India opportunities leveraging disruptive technologies like AI, cloud, IoT, and others across the ecosystem.”
Arvind Bali, CEO, Telecom Sector Skill Council
“For an estimate, in FY2021–2022 around 36,000+ competent workers were needed in India for 5G and allied technologies. Due to the increased use of internet services and apps, the demand for better telecom networks, and currently the implementation of 5G network, this gap will only widen. In order to meet this demand, TSSC has already developed courses in 5G and related technologies and created multiple Centers of Excellence and training centres across the country. To close this gap, we have also teamed up with various government, academic, and business stakeholders. India is home to a sizable talent pool, hence it is crucial that the youth is skilled, upskilled, or reskilled for this new network technology.”
Manish Vyas, President, Communications, Media and Entertainment Business, and CEO, Network Services, Tech Mahindra
“The 5G ecosystem will unlock immense opportunities for industries across sectors, allowing them to experiment with myriad ideas to innovate and fuel the next level of growth possibilities. 5G is not just a generational leap in Network technology, it is a platform for Innovation. I often say that 5G is like the last piece of the Industry 4.0 jigsaw puzzle, that will spearhead the next wave of digital disruption, taking us a step closer to realising our dream of Atmanirbhar Bharat and technological supremacy.”

Manoranjan (Mao) Mohapatra, CEO, Comviva
“The rollout of the 5G network in India will be a crucial enabler for digital transformation. Apart from catering to the customers, the 5G technology will also add an intrinsic value to the enterprise segment in the country. The global market for 5G-enabled business applications is expected to grow to $20 billion over the five years and India will be a critical contributor to this expansion. 5G will not only improve connectivity across the country but also reinvent the customer experience for telecom consumers apart from the traditional calling and internet services.”
Agendra Kumar, MD, Esri India
“As we enter this new dawn of technological disruption, the advent of 5G will not only revolutionise the Indian telecom industry but will have a huge social, economic, and global impact. In all this, GIS technology and geospatial infrastructure will play a pivotal role in helping Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) in designing and managing their networks, assets, and operations in an integrated way, and be agile enough to grow as their business requirements change, while ensuring next-generation customer experience. Together, 5G and GIS will play a transformational role in the success of Digital India.”
Ramesh Natarajan, CEO, Redington Limited
“The launch of 5G services marks a very significant inflection point in the Digital India journey. 5G ushers in not just world-class Telecom infrastructure but also the possibilities for revolutionising several industries that can take advantage of low-latency, high-bandwidth and network slicing capabilities, among others. These powerful 5G capabilities will also help make the technology powering several use-cases appear “invisible” and overcome Technology Friction (the gap between the rate of technology innovation and the rate of technology adoption).”

Kunal Nagarkatti, CEO, Clover Infotech
“The launch of 5G services in India is a great move by the government towards building a digital-native community. By equipping us with high speed internet, low latency, and massive capacity, 5G will enable us to derive maximum benefits out of today’s highly distributed world of cloud, edge devices, and artificial intelligence. I think it would be interesting to witness 5G disrupting our lives further and leading to the creation of new industries, products and business models. While 4G unlocked the app economy, 5G is poised to unleash the true potential of a digital and connected India that we live in today.”
Puneet Gupta, Managing Director & VP India/Saarc, NetApp
“5G will be a game-changer for tech transformation in India – We are increasingly seeing players in the technology industry and business community invest in building edge-computing environments to support AI-driven IoT. The advances it will bring – everything from self-driving cars and smart cities, to connected healthcare and industrial IoT, will truly revolutionise every sector and open new avenues for businesses across regions. 5G, with its machine-to-machine connectivity, will lead to an exponential increase in data. How enterprises leverage this data is what will define their future success.”