Reliance Jio, the nation''s largest telecom firm, will expand 5G telephony services that provide high-speed internet connectivity to all areas of the country by December 2023, according to its chairman Mukesh Ambani on Saturday. Jio had in September 2016 made an entry into the telecom industry, offering free voice calls and dirt-cheap data, causing the competition to either match or fold up/solidate.
Ambani has promised affordable 5G services. "Today, I want to reiterate Jio''s commitment to deliver 5G to every city, every taluka, and every tehsil of our country by December 2023," he said at the India Mobile Congress (IMC) conference here.
Diwali, Ambani at his flagship shareholder meeting in August, promised the use of 5G services in four major cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata.
Most of Jio''s 5G is made in India, and hence has the title of ''Atmanirbhar Bharat.'' He said adding 5G and 5G-enabled digital solutions can provide an affordable and high-quality education and skill development to common Indians.
By turning existing hospitals into smart hospitals without much more investment, making the services of the finest doctors digitally available anywhere in India, as well as improving the speed and accuracy of diagnostics and enabling real-time clinical decisionmaking, the company can offer high-quality healthcare to rural and distant areas.
5G may also bridge the divide between urban and rural India by accelerating digitization and intelligent data management of agriculture, services, commerce, industry, informal sector, transportation and energy infrastructure, according to the Chancellor.
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"With the addition of AI into every field, 5G will help India''s development as the world''s intelligence capital," he said, adding that all these will result in a huge increase in entrepreneurship in the country, which in turn will result in even greater investments and create millions of new jobs.
India will be the world''s leading digital society by 2047, up from $3 trillion (roughly Rs. 245 lakh crore) now, and increasing per capita income quickly to $20,000 (roughly Rs. 1,63,000).
"It will not be an exaggeration to say that 5G is like a Digital Kamadhenu, the heavenly cow that grants whatever we desire," he said.
India will make longer and faster strides towards''Sab Ka Digital Saath and Sab Ka Digital Vikas,'' according to Ambani. 5G is far more than just the next generation of connectivity technologies, which includes the whole potential of other technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, blockchain, and the metaverse.