– Despite the commercial launch of 5G two years ago, the Indian telecom industry is still struggling to effectively monetize 5G networks.
– Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) has emerged as a key application to connect homes, enterprises, and small and medium businesses with low fiber broadband penetration in India.
– Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel have introduced 5G FWA services to complement their FTTH offerings, targeting over 100 million underserved households.
– Monetization of 5G remains a challenge, with the industry searching for a ‘killer app’ to help recoup investments.
– Challenges include high spectrum costs, low fiber connectivity, and uncertainty around private 5G adoption.
– The transition from 4G to 5G is seen as a natural upgrade for consumers, with enterprises finding greater value in 5G for specific use cases.
– 5G-Advanced technology is set to bring new wireless technology innovations, including AI and machine learning enhancements, strengthening the 5G system foundation.
– Future monetization in the 5.5G era could come from uplink traffic, QoS-based pricing, and efficient spectrum utilization with AI.