Akash Ambani, chairman, Reliance Jio, Sunil Mittal, chairman, Bharti Enterprises, and Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman, Aditya Birla Group (the co-parent of Vodafone Idea), also told delegates at Asia’s biggest technology event, the India Mobile Congress, that they will double down on investments to ensure broader rollout of 5G in the country.
“Country after country as well as World Bank, United Nations, WTO, the Africa Union, the EU, G20, BRICS – everyone is chanting that the digital infrastructure model that India has built can accelerate the world economy, especially in those countries which have lack of infrastructure,” Mittal said.
Echoing the sentiment, Jio’s Ambani said using the latest technology can improve the lives of people and the best example of it is India’s digital public infrastructure, purpose-built on an integrated technology backbone that helps the state achieve its stated objective of financial inclusion for the underprivileged.
“Millions of youngsters like me are inspired by your work in making Digital India a means to build a more innovative, inclusive and sustainable world,” Ambani said, referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Speaking at the inauguration of India Mobile Congress, Ambani and Mittal also underlined their readiness to offer broadband-from-space services.Kumar Mangalam Birla, additional director of Vodafone Idea, added that India has emerged as a champion of the global south, with many countries from the global south now eager to adopt “India’s path breaking digital public infrastructure assets across identity, payments, and data management.”Mittal also highlighted the success India has achieved in manufacturing in the last few years with players ranging from Apple to Dixon to Samsung and the Tatas, and companies be it small or big, getting into manufacturing.
5G ROLLOUT
Talking about 5G rollout, Mittal said Airtel has been rolling out the latest technology at a fast pace. “We have covered 5000 towns and 20000 villages with Airtel 5G. By March 2024, we would have covered the entire country with 5G. This will be truly the fastest rollout anywhere in the world.”
Ambani said that Reliance Jio has already installed over 10 lakh 5G cells across all 22 circles of India, contributing to 85% of the overall 5G capacity in the country.
He added that Jio’s 5G rollout is powered by a 100% in-house 5G stack designed, developed and manufactured entirely by Indian talent.
“We have fortified our 5G infrastructure with services like Jiofiber and Jio Airfiber, our fixed wireless broadband offerings. Now, Jio can provide 5G access to over 200 m unconnected homes and premises, making India the broadband capital of the world,” Ambani said.
