On May 19 2022, India tested its first successful 5G phone call at IIT-Madras. Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnav made the call on Thursday, on a network that was designed and developed end-to-end in India, marking a major boost to the Made In India initiative of the Government of India. 5G Telecom Networks are the next major milestone in the field of telecommunications technology and the development of a completely Made-In-India network is a landmark step towards self-reliance in innovation, and research and development in the technology sector in India. 

 

Highlighting this achievement, Mr. Vaishnav noted that it is the Prime Minister’s vision to see indigenously developed 4G and 5G technology stacks and a matter of great pride and importance to see the development of the country’s own 5G standard. Earlier in the year, May 17, on the occasion of the silver jubilee of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI),  the Prime Minister congratulated the nation on the development of an indigenous 5G test-bed which would reduce foreign reliance on which India had been hitherto dependent. He noted that self-reliance in 5G technology would help in the fast expansion of 5G and greater coverage of the country under it. 

 

The implementation of the technology will also act as a major boost to every sector of the Indian economy from IT to education to logistics to even agriculture, which would boost economic productivity and competitiveness and boost employment opportunities for the youth in many new avenues. India is also currently working on the design and development of a 6G network going forward.

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