The 7th edition of the India Mobile Congress 2023 (IMC 2023), India’s largest telecom forum witnessed global participation which started on October 27 and concluded on Sunday, October 29, 2023. During the event, we witnessed Futuristic tech, 5G growth, and satellite internet unveiling from India’s two leading communication giants. Here are the top 10 highlights from the mega event.
India Mobile Congress 2023 impressions
First, let’s begin with some details. The India Mobile Congress is organized by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI). It was the 7th edition of the exhibition and as usual, drew huge attractions from the industry. The 3-day event was graced by 1.50 lakh visitors and hosted representatives from 67 countries in total. Indian PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the event who took his time to praise the country’s 5G growth and made a call for the country to take a leading role in the fifth-generation cellular technology.
Top 10 highlights from the India Mobile Congress 2023
- Focus on 5G and 6G
The IMC 2023 event stressed a great deal on the next-generation 5G technology and beyond. The telcos, stakeholders, and experts discussed the advanced wireless standard and its application in education, health, agriculture, industry, etc. in detail. and explored how it can bring fruit to India’s needs.
The event also emphasized a great deal about 6G, its ecosystem build-up, and strategic partnership with other states for its research and development. India has joined hands with the US on 5G and 6G which mimics the growing inter-state partnerships for the next-gen wireless communication technologies in recent years.
- Draws global participation
As mentioned above, the IMC 2023 event drew participants from 22 countries in the region of 1.5 lakh visitors. This included over 5000 CEO delegates, 400 startups, and stakeholders. The event gave a platform to the visitors for networking, cooperating, and culture-sharing opportunities.
- 100 5G labs in India
During the event, Indian PM Modi announced the launch of 1000 5G labs in various academic institutes across India. This initiative aims at educating young students, professors, businesses, and startups to get familiar with the next-gen cellular technology. It is expected that the labs will enable the participants to learn about 5G’s use cases in education, health, agriculture, transportation, etc.
The 5G labs will be installed in states such as Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Telangana, Karnataka, and more. India has officially begun its 5G network in 2022 with Jio and Airtel in the lead.
- Jio and Airtel announce Satellite broadband internet
At the India Mobile Congress 2023, both telecom operations, Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel announced their satellite broadband internet services which both said will be soon available for the entire nation. Jio has partnered with a Luxemburg company SES for the MEO satellite constellation that will enable it to provide high-speed broadband services. On the other hand, Airtel will provide a similar service with LEO satellites through OneWeb EutelSat where it has the largest share.
Jio’s service has already been available in select areas in the country and Airtel Chair Sunil Bharti Mittal said that the telco’s satellite internet will be available for commercial rollout in November which is well-equipped to connect customers in India and beyond.
Read in detail:
- Jio demoes satellite internet in India with MEO technology
- Bharti Airtel to start commercial satellite broadband internet service next month
- Futuristic solutions from India operators
The event was also marked by various innovations unveiled by Indian telecom operators including Airtel 5G Plus. During the IMC 2023 event, the telco demonstrated the solution’s ability to optimize traffic, unlock real-time road monitoring, better road safety, etc. Likewise, Jio announced its satellite internet service JioSpacefiber which will go nationwide soon. More on that below.
- Nokia unveils new technologies
The world’s leading telco gear vendor Nokia also showcased some of its key technologies at the India Mobile Congress 2023. The manufacturer demoed exciting business applications powered by 5G and 6G networks including Rapid Rail NCRTC, 4G network on the Moon, real-time extended reality, etc.
The Finnish company also shed light on how the 6G network will become a ‘radar’ and sense everything from people to objects while also not compromising privacy. Nokia has announced a 5G lab in Bangalore to explore use cases for the 5G-successor.
Besides, Qualcomm collaborated with Ericsson and Airtel to demonstrate RedCap device efficiencies. This innovation is expected to enhance mid-band 5G uses.
- The world’s thinnest fiber
An Indian company based in Pune, called “Sterlite Technologies Limited” (STL) unveiled the world’s thinnest fiber cable to be used for commercial telecommunication services. Unveiled by India’s Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnav, the 160-micron fiber will bring 3x more improvements to the fiber communication system which will translate to better speed, reliability, latency, and overall broadband capability. The company said that its fiber cable is 32% thinner than the regular 250-micron fiber cable.
- Aspire for India’s Young Entrepreneurs
The event also featured the launch of the Aspire program. It’s a startup initiative that will guide young Indian minds in the telco and digital platforms to help them kickstart their enterprises.
Additionally, a Robo Blitz war event was organized wherein participants displayed their chops in robotics. Through these youth-centric programs, the event reflected the state’s dedication to fostering digital talents for the next generation eras.
Robo Blitz was a robo wars event that challenged participants to showcase their talents in robotics. These initiatives reflected the event’s commitment to nurturing the next generation of leaders and creators in the digital space.
Also check out: Jio vs. Airtel satellite internet service | Speed, coverage, latency, more
- “Make in India” makes new gains
Indian government’s “Make in India” initiative found new achievements during the IMC 2023 event. This came via Optiemus Infracom Limited (OIL) which announced its Unmanned Systems by launching advanced and high-precision drones made in India.
- PM praises India’s 5G progress
While inaugurating the India Mobile Congress 2023, Indian PM Narendra Modi took his chance to praise the country’s momentum gained in 5G technology. He said that the country won’t stop with its 5G development and the technology will reach every individual. Modi shared that India has over 4 lakh 5G base stations which cover 97% of the cities and 80% of the population.
For a country that started the technology just one year back, it is a tremendous mark. The PM also shed light on how India’s median mobile broadband speed increased three times in just one year. He reflected that not just in 5G, the country is also making significant progress in 6G.
These are the top 10 highlights from India Mobile Congress 2023 events. You can check here to get additional information.