Research firm Analysys Mason has prepared the latest 5G readiness Index showing China in the top position.
South Korea, the U.S., Japan, Germany, the U.K., France, Canada, Russia and Singapore are the top nine countries in the 5G list.
India, the home for Sunil Mittal-promoted Bharti Airtel, Mukesh Ambani-promoted Reliance Jio and Kumar Mangalam Birla-promoted Idea Cellular, do not feature in the top 10 list of the top nations which are getting ready for 5G launch.
The development indicates that majority of India’s 100 crore plus population will not be getting 10 Gbps Internet speed on 5G service providers in 2020 as compared with 100 Mbps speed from 4G operators.
CounterPoint Research earlier indicated that 5G smartphones will be too expensive as chipset makers will be selling chipsets at a premium price. The report also did not add India as one of the key nations for 5G in the initial phase.
Analysys Mason says China, the #1 country for 4G subscriber base, holds a narrow lead in 5G readiness ahead of South Korea and the United States.
CTIA said China’s lead in 5G is due to a combination of both proactive government policies and industry momentum. The study attributes the United States’ high ranking to the fact that America’s wireless industry is a global leader in preparing to deploy 5G commercially, with significant investments in these next-generation networks.
“The United States will not get a second chance to win the global 5G race,” said Meredith Attwell Baker, CTIA President and CEO.
Analysys Mason studied 5G spectrum and infrastructure policies as well the commercial industry plans of ten countries for evaluating the current status of the global race to 5G.
All Chinese providers – China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom — committed to specific launch dates and the government has committed to at least 100 MHz of mid-band spectrum and 2,000 MHz of high-band spectrum for each wireless provider.
This year alone, the U.K., Spain, and Italy are all holding 5G spectrum auctions. India is just considering regulations on 5G spectrum. UK has just completed the 5G spectrum auctions.
At the end of 2018, the U.S. will rank sixth out of the 10 countries in mid-band (3–24GHz) spectrum availability, a critical band for 5G. The U.S. joins Russia and Canada as the only countries currently without announced plans to allocate mid-band spectrum on an exclusive basis to mobile by the end of 2020.
Countries like the U.K. and regions like the European Union are taking significant steps to modernize infrastructure rules to facilitate the deployment of 5G networks.
5G benefits to industries
CTIA in a separate document said America’s wireless companies are ready to invest $275 billion into building 5G network infrastructure. This will create three million new jobs and add $500 billion to the economy.
5G technology will ensure self-driving cars reduce emissions by up to 90 percent, cut travel time by 40 percent, and save 22,000 lives annually. 5G will save $450B annually in transportation costs.
Wireless-powered smart city solutions will deliver $160 billion in benefits and savings through things like lower energy use and less congestion.
Drone commerce is expected to add more than $80 billion to the economy and create 100,000 new jobs as 5G will unlock the full commercial potential of drones.
5G allows the energy grid to be more accurately monitored, improving management, reducing costs, and adding $1.8 trillion in revenue to the U.S. economy.
Telecom Capex related investment in 5G will further assist telecom equipment makers such as Huawei, Nokia, Ericsson, Samsung and ZTE to improve their revenue streams in coming years.
Baburajan K
