Yohan P Chawla
Tech giant Qualcomm technologies, an innovator in the mobile communication and telephony business at the IAA World Congress, Kochi, today shared how 5G data connectivity would not only boost the smartphone market but also provide a robust growth prospect to the entire eco-system which is dependent on the internet.
Day One of the IAA World Congress in Kochi hosted Penny Baldwin, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Qualcomm Technologies. Sharing an interesting insight, she said, “Smartphones, with almost 8 billion connections worldwide, are the largest technology platform in the history of mankind, and this has been made possible because of the immense R&D investments made by Qualcomm over the years.”
“We expect 8.5 billion smartphones to be shipped between the years of 2018 and 2022,” Baldwin said, adding, “according to IMF, smartphones contribute about one-sixth the estimated growth across the world.”
On India being a key market, Baldwin said, “India has embraced the revolution and has become a mobile-first entity and has become entirely wireless. With over 1.2 billion mobile connections in India, today, 92% Indians access the internet with mobile devices. 8.5 gigabits is the average amount of data Indian smartphone users utilize per month, which has accelerated due to the 4G high-speed internet connectivity across the country.”
60% of total mobile data traffic is driven by video consumption, which is expected to increase to more than 78% by 2021.
With 50 billion dollars being invested in research, Qualcomm technologies has now started investing in the creation of 5G technology. According to Baldwin, 5G will transform the ordinary experience to extraordinary, across video content consumption, socializing on the web, gaming, creating, communicating and shopping.
The 5G roll-out is expected to happen faster than its predecessor 4G, with 20+ operators and smartphone makers who have announced the adoption of the advanced technology.
Connected devices powered by IoT would also tremendously benefit with 5G providing the necessary bandwidth.