Over 80% of new smartphones in India will be 5G-enabled by 2023: ICEA

Telecom service providers have begun offering the service in selected locations, with plans to expand to cover the entire country by the end of 2023 or early 2024.

"India as a nation is an early adopter of 5G technology. This 5G technology has opened a vast opportunity for a new generation of telecom equipment manufacturers, application providers, and internet of things (IoT), machine-2-machine (M2M) and healthcare services, among others," Mohindroo told IANS.

The mobile device ecosystem was a pioneer in the development of 5G phones.

Even before the launch of 5G services, there were around 80–100 million 5G-compatible phones on the market.

According to the 'Ericsson Mobility Report,' 5G will account for around 53% of mobile subscriptions in India by 2028, with 690 million customers.

5G subscriptions in India were predicted to reach over 31 million by the end of 2022.

On semiconductor industry, Mohindroo stated that the Indian semiconductor market was $15 billion in 2020 and is predicted to grow $63 billion by 2023 at a 30% CAGR.

"This is a tremendous opportunity for the country. The establishment of the entire semiconductor ecosystem in the nation, including the semiconductor fab, compound semiconductors, discrete semiconductors, assembly, testing, marking, and packaging (ATMP) units, etc., is a top priority for the government," Mohindroo said.

The India Semiconductor Mission provides financial support equal to 50% of the project cost as an incentive expenditure of Rs. 76,000 crore for the growth of India's semiconductor ecosystem.

"We believe that the next priority should be to provide worker skilling for the sector and to incentivize the downstream value chain in semiconductor manufacturing," he said.