4G coverage to surpass 2G in 12 months: Mukesh Ambani

Indian economy will grow to $7 trillion in the next ten years from $2.5 trillion now and be among the top three economies in the world, Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani said on Wednesday.

"Data is the new oil. India does not need to import it. We have it in super-abundance. It will be a new source of value and will create opportunities and prosperity for India and millions of Indians," he said at the Indian Mobile Congress in Delhi.

India has leapfrogged from a lowly 155th in mobile broadband penetration to being the world's largest mobile-data consuming nation in just one year. The mobile market is now overflowing with data and a robust digital circulatory system has to be created to carry data to the 1.3 billion Indians.

"4G coverage in India will become larger than the 2G coverage within the next 12 months," Ambani said.

"Data is the oxygen of a digital economy. We cannot deprive Indians of this vital life-sustaining resource. We have to provide ubiquitous access to high-speed data at affordable prices," he said.

Ambani's group firm Reliance Jio entered the telecom space last year and since then, the financial stress in the sector has increased manifold with existing operators demanding some financial incentives from the government.

Reliance Jio garnered 130 million users within a year of launch and ushered in free voice calls and dirt-cheap data tariffs which every other operator had to match to retain their users.

Also, this week, the company will roll out a 4G feature phone that will be available to its users on making a refundable deposit of Rs 1,500.

Indian telecom and IT industry has to play a foundational role in creating the digital infrastructure. India had missed out on the first three global industrial revolutions of mechanisation, mass production and automation, but has the opportunity to lead in the fourth industrial revolution fuelled by connectivity, data and artificial intelligence, he said. "Mobile internet and cloud computing are the foundational technologies in the fourth industrial revolution."

"We have to ensure that every Indian has access to an affordable smartphone that connects him to limitless knowledge and the power of the internet. Young Indians, who account for 63% of the nation's population, have the competence to build new digital businesses. They are bustling with ideas and entrepreneurial energy. If we give them the right tools and create the right ecosystem, they will transform India into a nation of a million start-ups," Ambani said.

Emphasising on the importance of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, big data analytics, 3-D printing, blockchain and nanotechnology, he said, "India must foster confidence that new technologies are enablers of a new wave of wealth and employment for all."

"New sources of energy and new modes of transportation with unparallelled efficiencies have become possible, thanks to convergence of several technologies. India must embark on the task of connecting everything and everyone via the super-internet of things. This will enable 130 crore Indians to collaborate directly with one another, democratising economic life like never before," he added.

"We must break silos and forge partnerships. No corporate, nor the government can do it alone. Together, we can achieve the unimaginable," he said.

Reliance Jio and existing operators have been indulging in a war of words over various issues including the latest cut in interconnection usage charges by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.

STRONG CONNECT

• India has leapfrogged from 155th in mobile broadband penetration to the world’s largest mobile-data consuming nation in just one year
   
• Market is now overflowing with data, robust digital circulatory system has to be created to carry data to 1.3 bn Indians