5G to contribute $450 bn to our economy: PM Modi

New Delhi, May 17: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that the 5G network will contribute $450 billion to the Indian economy.

Speaking at a programme marking the silver jubilee celebrations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), PM Modi said, "It's estimated that in the coming time, 5G will contribute $450bn to the Indian economy. By the end of this decade, we should be able to launch 6G services, our task force is working on it,"

The Prime Minister said the self-made 5G Test is an important step toward self-reliance in critical and modern technology in the telecom sector. "The country's own 5G standard has been made in the form of 5Gi, it is a matter of great pride for the country. It will play a big role in bringing 5G technology to the villages of the country", a press release from the PMO quoted him as saying.

The Prime Minister said that connectivity will determine the pace of progress in 21st century India. Therefore connectivity has to be modernized at every level. 5G technology, he continued, is also going to bring positive changes in the governance of the country, ease of living and ease of doing business. This will boost growth in every sector like agriculture, health, education, infrastructure and logistics. This will also increase convenience and create many employment opportunities. For rapid roll-out of 5G, efforts of both the government and industry are needed, he added.

The PM cited the telecom sector as a great example of how self-reliance and healthy competition create a multiplier effect in society and the economy. Coming out of the despair, frustration, corruption and policy paralysis of the 2G era, the country has moved rapidly from 3G to 4G and now 5G and 6G.

The Prime Minister noted that in the last 8 years, new energy was infused into the telecom sector with the 'Panchamrita' of Reach, Reform, Regulate, Respond and Revolutionise. He credited TRAI for playing a very important role in this. The Prime Minister said now the country is going beyond thinking in silos and moving ahead with the 'whole of the government approach'. Today we are expanding the fastest in the world in terms of teledensity and internet users in the country, many sectors including telecom have played a role in it, he said.

The PM said to make the mobile accessible to the poorest of the poor families, emphasis was placed on the manufacturing of mobile phones in the country itself. The result was that the mobile manufacturing units increased from 2 to more than 200.

The Prime Minister noted that today India is connecting every village in the country with optical fibre. He added that before 2014, not even 100 village panchayats in India were provided with optical fibre connectivity. Today we have made broadband connectivity reach about 1.75 lakh gram panchayats. Hundreds of government services are reaching the villages because of this.

During the programme, Prime Minister launched a 5G Test Bed, developed as a multi-institute collaborative project by a total of eight institutes led by IIT Madras.

The other institutes that participated in the project include IIT Delhi, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Bombay, IIT Kanpur, IISc Bangalore, Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering & Research (SAMEER) and Centre of Excellence in Wireless Technology (CEWiT).

The project has been developed at a cost of more than Rs 220 crore. The Test Bed will enable a supportive ecosystem for Indian industry and startups which will help them validate their products, prototypes, solutions and algorithms in 5G and next generation technologies.

TRAI was established in 1997 through the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997.