5G Technology to Revolutionize from Healthcare to Education: Akash Ambani

Comments by Shri Akash Ambani, Chairman- Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd at a Post-Budget Webinar coordinated by Ministry of Electronics & IT (MeitY) & Department of Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade (DPIIT)- 28thFebruary, 2023

Theme: Unleashing the Potential — Ease of Living using Technology
Thank you, Secretary Alkesh Ji and thank you MEITY. Good morning to the Honorable Ministers and other dignitaries on the call. 

I’ll talk about unleashing the potential of ease of living using technology. 

5 months ago, on 1st October 2022, Hon’ble Pradhan Mantri ji inaugurated 5G services in India at the Indian Mobile Congress Event at Delhi. In less than half a year, the industry has retooled itself and is rapidly bringing the 5G revolution to every nook and corner of the country. Jio is leading 5G network rollouts in the country with the world’s largest StandAlone Network Architecture that is uniquely suited to cater to the requirements of True 5G technology. 

Jio has launched true 5G service in 277 cities across the nation, with the largest deployment of more than 40,000 sites and almost 2,50,000 Cells of 5G network in 700 Mhz as well as in the 3500Mhz band. We are on the path to achieve the declared goal to increase the Jio 5G footprint month after month to other cities, towns, and talukas of various State/UTs, and are aiming to cover every town, every taluka, and every tehsil across the nation by December 2023.This will be the world’s fastest 5G rollout. 

The impact on 5G that will have on India’s growing economy is immense. There is no other technology that has given us various growth sectors like 5G has as a rapidly growing emerging economy India’s uniquely positioned to take lead in the use of 5G technology for the betterment of society and livelihood of over 140 Crore Indians. 5G will make our cities smarter or society safer, utilities more stable and emergency services more responsive and industry more efficient. In short, 5G technologies have had a profound impact on modern societies and 5G is perhaps among the top contenders of this technology. Many novel use cases are finding their way to the market across sectors such as healthcare, education, agriculture, smart cities and infrastructure, including entertainment and productivity. 

1.    HealthCare Services

Let me walk you through a couple of use cases that we see in the healthcare services sector. 
The Healthcare sector is poised to be among the most significant beneficiaries of 5G technology. The deployment of 5G in the healthcare industry can significantly improve the reach and quality of health care for patients all across the country. 

a.    5G-enabled remote consultations: patients can easily consult with doctors without physically visiting. This can save time, reduce the risk of exposure to infections, and dramatically lower healthcare costs.

b.    Improved Speed of diagnoses:With 5G-enabled medical devices, doctors can get real-time information about a patient’s vital signs, allowing them to make faster and more accurate diagnoses. The positive effects of the application of this technology on emergency response and overall mortality are significant. 

c.    Connected Ambulance: 5G ambulance would be able to transmit data and video to hospitals in real time. Because of 5G’s high bandwidth nature, video can be streamed live from ambulances. A GPS device would also be able track ambulances, and other connected sensors would allow medical experts to recognize vital signs early, remotely access real time medical reports, and respond more quickly right from the ambulance itself.

2.    Agriculture

The use of 5G technology in agriculture is becoming increasingly popular and has the potential to revolutionize the industry by increasing efficiency, reducing costs, and improving sustainability. Some prominent use cases of 5G technology in the agriculture sector are:-

a.    Precision Farming: 5G can enable precision farming by providing farmers with real-time data on weather patterns, soil moisture levels, and crop growth. This data can help farmers make informed decisions about when to plant, water, and harvest crops, leading to more efficient use of resources and higher yields.

b.    Livestock Monitoring: 5G technology can also be used to monitor livestock in real-time, 
helping farmers detect health problems and prevent the spread of diseases. For example, sensors can be placed on animals to monitor their heart rate, body temperature, and other vital signs, allowing farmers to detect signs of illnesses early.

c.    Autonomous Farming: Autonomous farming, where drones or robots perform tasks such as planting, spraying, and harvesting crops, can also be enabled by 5G technology. This can increase efficiency and dramatically reduce labour costs.

d.    Smart Irrigation: 5G technology can be used to create smart irrigation systems that adjust water usage based on real-time data on weather patterns and soil moisture levels. This can help farmers in conserving water and reduce their environmental impact.

3.    Education 

Education and 5G technology have the potential to intersect in ways that have the potential to transform the way students learn and interact with their teachers and peers.

a.    Improved Access to Information: Students can access educational materials and resources from anywhere, at any time. This could enable more personalized and flexible learning experiences, as well as allow students to learn from remote or rural areas where internet access is traditionally limited.

b.    Enhanced Collaboration: 5G networks can enable students and teachers to collaborate in real-time and in a variety of ways, such as through virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR) experiences. This could allow for more interactive and immersive learning experiences that are more engaging and memorable.

c.    Expanded Opportunities for Distance Learning: 5G technology would also allow for high-quality video conferencing and live streaming, making it easier for students to attend classes remotely. This could be particularly helpful for students who are unable to attend in-person classes due to distance, health issues, or other reasons.

d.    Improved Assessment and Feedback: With 5G technology, teachers can provide more immediate and personalised feedback to students using various digital tools. This could enable teachers to better monitor students’ progress and provide timely interventions when needed.

e.    New Learning Tools and Applications: 5G technology would also support the development of new educational applications and tools that leverage its capabilities, such as AR and VR applications, educational gaming, and interactive simulations.

4.    Disaster Management using 5G technology:

Successful emergency operations need reliable communication and real time access to critical information. First responders, such as firefighters, policemen and emergency medical service personnel, require fast, reliable and secure communications in various mission critical(MC) situations. 

5G technology can enable ultra low latency services and manage disaster response scenarios like:

a.    Search & Rescue Missions with high resolution camera fee in disaster recovery zones
b.    Timely and accurate aid supply: Drop off first aid kits, life jackets and food supplies.
c.    Live Public Announcements
d.    Heavy payload delivery including Medicine / Logistic Delivery
e.     High Resolution Telemetry
f.    BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight ) Long Range Operations.

5.    Smart Cities

The integration of 5G technology in smart cities has the potential to revolutionise the way we live, work, and interact with our urban environments.:

a.    Improved connectivity: 5G networks are capable of providing faster, more reliable, and higher-capacity wireless connectivity than previous generations of cellular networks. This can enable smart cities to support a variety of connected devices and services, from autonomous vehicles to smart streetlights.

b.    Enhanced data collection and analysis: 5G networks can support the collection and analysis of vast amounts of data from a variety of sources, including sensors, cameras, and other IoT devices. This data can be used to improve city services, such as traffic management, waste management, and public safety.

c.    Increased efficiency: Smart cities can improve the efficiency of city operations, such as energy usage, traffic flow, and emergency response times using 5G services.

d.    Better public services: Smart cities can use 5G networks to deliver public services more efficiently and effectively, such as healthcare, education, and transportation.

e.    Improved quality of life: Smart cities that leverage 5G technology can create more livable, sustainable, and equitable communities, with better access to resources and services for all residents.

6.    Improved Office Productivity 

5G technology has the potential to improve work productivity by enabling faster data transfer, reduced latency, improved video conferencing, and increased flexibility.

a.    Faster data transfer: 5G networks can provide lightning-fast data transfer speeds, which can help employees complete their work faster. For example, large files such as videos, graphics, and other multimedia can be uploaded and downloaded quickly, enabling employees to collaborate and share information in real-time.

b.    Reduced latency: With 5G networks, there is less latency, which is the delay between the request for data and the data transfer. This means that employees can access cloud-based applications and services more quickly, leading to a more efficient workflow.

c.    Immersive video conferencing: 5G networks can support high-quality video conferencing with minimal lag or buffering. Now immersive VR meetings over the 5G network will help teams to connect, collaborate and develop ideas together and you can meet teammates across the world to connect, collaborate and develop ideas together. This means remote workers can participate in meetings and collaborate with colleagues as if they were in the same room, improving communication and reducing the need for travel.

d.    Increased flexibility: With 5G technology, employees can work from anywhere, whether it’s in the office, at home, or on the go. Metaverse experience on the 5G network through immersive virtual office campus is now reality 

e.    Remote Assist and Training: Using a Mixed Reality (MR) headset (such as Microsoft Hololens), an employee can perform step-by-step training and field-of-view of the trainee can also be mirrored on the 4K TV screen

7.    Enhanced Entertainment 

5G technology is expected to revolutionise the way entertainment is offered and consumed and is going to create new possibilities for immersive experiences

a.    Cloud Gaming over 5G: Cloud gaming enables gamers to enjoy games anywhere, anytime on any connected device. With 5G networks, it will allow games with high resolution 4K graphics that can be streamed and played by low power devices.

b.    8K UHD streaming Video:8K TV connected to 5G  playing 8K Video without buffering, which requires more than 150 Mbps of continuous bandwidth, is now a reality, providing real life experience 

c.    Immersive content: Users now can enjoy higher quality videos and images in virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) applications, providing an immersive experience that was not possible before.

To summarise, as 5G technology continues to develop and become more widespread in both its coverage and adoption, we can expect to see even more benefits and use cases that improve our standard of living. All evolving technology trends including IOT, Wearable technology, AI, ML – will need a strong backbone to have a meaningful impact on shaping our digital future. 
Doctors, students, farmers, teachers, factory workers, office workers, small businesses and society writ large will be significantly and positively impacted by the march of 5G and allied technologies. 

The impact of the technology is significant, and we must all, from industry, government and academia strive towards the development and adoption of this technology in a collaborative, responsible, and ethical manner.

Thank you very much.