'Still in search of unique use cases for 5G,' says Xiaomi India boss Muralikrishnan B at BT Tech Today Congress

Even as 5G comes with several advantages such as 10X spectrum, 10X speeds, and one-tenth latency as compared to 4G, there are still no unique use cases just as WhatsApp video calls and YouTube that came in due to 4G.

Talking about it, Muralikrishnan B, President, Xiaomi India, who was speaking at the Business Today Tech Today Congress, said, “There are three stakeholders in this entire puzzle-- Mobile network operators, handset manufacturers and then, of course, the consumer. Consumers think that 5G is a faster version of 4G. WhatsApp video calls and YouTube are two use cases that came in due to 4G but for 5G we are still looking for unique use cases.”

The best minds of the country need to come together to think of use cases which can bring clarity in terms of offerings for the consumers, only then the trillions of rupees that have been invested in the network can bear fruit, he added. "People will adopt 5G eagerly if there are unique use cases for the same in India," said Muralikrishnan.

While mentioning that 5G is not only about telecom, Manoj Gurnani, Head Strategy & Technology, India, Nokia said, “5G is above and beyond telecom and it also caters to agriculture, transportation, healthcare and much more. That's the difference it brings compared to the older technologies.”

He further said that drone-based precision farming will be among the major use-case for 5G in rural India.

Meanwhile, Mohan Rao Goli, CTO, Samsung R&D said that the download use-case will convert into streaming as huge bandwidth is available with larger throughputs. That is the direct consumer use case.

While speaking about the advantages of 5G from consumer perspectives, Harmanpreet Dhillon, CTO, Airtel, Karnataka Circle said, “Consumers want 5G for faster use of the internet, faster downloads in lesser time. Also, the internet penetration in rural areas is increasing day by day and 5G can help people residing in villages in so many ways.”

Also Read: ‘India can be one of top three players of AI in the world’: Romesh Wadhwani at BT Tech Today Congress