Ericsson has released a report on the ‘Promise of 5G’ in India carried out by Ericsson ConsumerLab. The study carried out in the second quarter of 2022 reflects the views of 300 million daily smartphone users in urban India. The report highlights five key insights that will drive the uptake of 5G in India.
According to the study, consumer 5G readiness is high in India. The intention to upgrade to 5G in urban India is two times higher than their counterparts in markets like the UK and US where 5G has already been launched. Over the past two years, India has witnessed three times increase in smartphone users who own a 5G handset. The study reveals that over 100 million users with 5G-ready smartphones wish to upgrade to a 5G subscription in 2023 while more than half of them are open to upgrading to a higher data tier plan in the next 12 months.
5G network superiority could emerge as a driver for consumer loyalty with 59 per cent of smartphone users intending to upgrade to 5G in the first 12 months. Of those who plan to upgrade to 5G, 36 per cent plan to churn to the best provider of 5G network when it is available. 60 per cent of early adopters who already have a 5G-capable phone expect 5G to bring new innovative applications, which are considered more appealing than better coverage. These users are even willing to pay a 45 per cent premium for plans bundled with novel experiences provided their expectations are met.
5G will improve network satisfaction in India, especially for the gaming experience. 7 in 10 current smartphone users are looking forward to enhanced video streaming quality once they switch to 5G. 5G-ready users are already engaging in using more digital services compared to 4G users – 60 per cent of 5G-ready users are already today engaging with more than three digital services. 5G will trigger an increase in consumption of new format high-resolution video streaming and cloud gaming.
The study tested 27 different 5G enhanced services with Indian consumers to reveal the top 10 services that Indian consumers wish for on their 5G plans. These include health and fitness, 360-degree live video streaming, cloud gaming, 5G TV package, virtual meeting space, immersive education, best-seat event experience, interactive calling, location-based augmented reality (AR) shopping and virtual reality (VR) shopping.
Commenting on the report, Jasmeet Sethi, head, Ericsson ConsumerLab, said, ”The transition to 5G provides an opportunity for service providers in India to strengthen their position in the consumer market, with a focus on 5G quality and availability. More innovative experiences need to be bundled to meet the expectations of early adopters to successfully monetise 5G.”
Meanwhile, Nitin Bansal, head, Ericsson India, and head, Network Solutions, Southeast Asia, Oceania and India, Ericsson, said, “Even as 5G will provide immersive experiences to urban customers, it will also play an important role in achieving India’s digital inclusion goals, especially in bringing broadband to rural and remote homes. Our new generation 5G and multi-band radios that will be deployed across networks will allow for the best user experience while the improved energy efficiency will reduce the cost of operations and impact on the environment, thereby ensuring sustainable and responsible 5G rollout.”
Additionally, Ericsson has announced the introduction of ultra-lightweight massive MIMO 32T32R radios as the best fit for India’s needs – antenna integrated radio (AIR) 3219 and AIR 3268. These 5G radios, which will be produced in India, are energy efficient and come with coverage-enhancing features such as Uplink Booster that make them very relevant for a densely populated country like India. These radios have been designed for 5G mid-band massive MIMO performance to deliver the benefits of deployment simplicity and improved energy efficiency. With their reduced weight, these Ericsson radios make installations easy on towers, rooftops, poles, and walls. Ericsson today powers 130 live 5G networks in 56 countries with 17 live 5G standalone networks across the world.
