Vodafone Idea chief technology officer Vishant Vora has explained the telecom operator’s 5G strategy in order to create a viable business model.
CTO of Vodafone Idea, India’s number one and the world’s number one private telecom operator said, India should offer affordable 5G spectrum or even explore free of cost like China. China is offering 5G spectrum to all of its three mobile services providers: China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom – without any fee.
“5G will create a strong digital society connecting the enterprises and consumers. There will be potential for creating significant value for both enterprises and retail consumers. A free 5G spectrum will be the best option for the India government to create a digital economy,” Vishant Vora said at a telecom event in Mumbai.
The statement from the CTO of Vodafone Idea assumes significance because India telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad recently said the government is aiming to sell 5G spectrum auction during the current year.
Germany has sold 5G spectrum for $7.5 billion, while Italy has sold 5G spectrum for nearly $7.4 billion. Indian telecom operators are looking for 5G launch in 2020 if the spectrum is cost effective.
Vishant Vora said the primary focus of the telecom operator will be making investment in core and transport. Vodafone Idea sees enough business opportunity from network slicing targeting both enterprises and retail consumers.
There will be less opportunity from AR, VR, gaming and autonomous driving, etc. in India. Network will no longer be a layer in the 5G era, Vishant Vora said. Investment in creating 5G capacity for business opportunity from AR, VR, gaming and autonomous driving will not be exciting for Vodafone Idea.
5G network will connect more devices at a time. Cost of delivery will drop. Since 5G network will be elastic telecom operators will be in a position to expand capacity. The focus of Vodafone Idea 5G will be on 5 Cs: Capacity, Coverage, Capability, Cost and Consumer.
Meanwhile, Vodafone UK earlier said it will switch on its 5G network for both consumers and business customers in seven cities across the UK on 3 July 2019. Vodafone will price 5G the same as 4G for both consumers and business customers.
Vodafone UK said it will also offer 5G roaming in the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain over the summer.
