Ambani pitches for 5G rollout, affordability

New Delhi: Billionaire Mukesh Ambani on Wednesday pitched for India making the rollout of 5G or the fifth-generation technology standard for broadband cellular networks as a national priority to support the digital revolution.

Speaking at the India Mobile Congress, he said India must complete the migration from 2G to 4G and 5G at the earliest.

”To keep millions of Indians at the bottom of the socio-economic pyramid confined to 2G is to deprive them of the benefits of the digital revolution,” he said.

Ambani, whose firm Reliance Jio in 2016 ushered in the revolution in cheaper mobile data and connectivity, said the rollout of 5G should be India’s national priority.

”We should not lose sight of the fact that affordability has been a critical driver of the phenomenally rapid expansion of the mobile subscriber base in India. India should move towards greater digital inclusion, and not greater digital exclusion,” he said.

Also, fibre connectivity should be completed across India on a mission mode, said Ambani, who is the chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries Ltd.