'1GB data's cost was ₹300, now…': PM Modi at launch of 5G in India
All three major telecom operators - Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea - demonstrated one use case to show the potential of 5G technology in India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said 5G technology will revolutionise the telecom sector and it's a historic day for the 21st century of India as he launched the 5G services in the country at the Indian Mobile Congress (IMC) 2022 at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi.
The services will progressively cover the entire country over the next couple of years. Capable of supporting ultra-high-speed internet, the fifth generation or 5G service is expected to unleash new economic opportunities and societal benefits, serving as a transformational force for Indian society.
After the launch, all three major telecom operators - Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea - demonstrated one use case to show the potential of 5G technology in India.
Here are top quotes of PM Modi at launch of 5G in India
1. The launch of 5G is a gift from the telecom industry to 130 crore Indians. It is a step toward a new era in the country, and is the beginning of infinite opportunities.
2. New India will not remain a mere consumer of technology but will play an active role in the development and implementation of that technology. We will lead the technological advancements in the world.
3. Digital India's success is based on four pillars, including the cost of a device, digital connectivity, data costs and the digital first approach. We worked on all of them.
4. From exporting zero mobile phones in 2014, to now, when we export phones worth thousands of crores... these efforts have had an impact on the cost of the device. Now we have started getting more features at a lower cost.
5. I have seen even the poor of the country always come forward to adopt new technologies... Technology has become democratic in its truest sense.
6. Earlier, the cost of 1GB data was about ₹300, it has come down to about ₹10 per GB now. On average, a person in India consumes 14GB per month. This would have cost about ₹4,200 per month but costs ₹125-150. It's the efforts of the government that led to this.
7. Digital India has given every citizen a space. Even the smallest street vendor is using the facility of UPI. The government reached the citizens without any middlemen, benefits reached beneficiaries directly.
8. With developments in technology and telecom, India will lead the Industry 4.0 revolution. This is not the decade of India, but the century of India.
9. People laughed at the idea of becoming 'Aatmanirbhar' but it has been done. It's taking electronic costs down. In 2014, there were only two mobile manufacturing facilities, today that number has increased to over 200 manufacturing facilities.
10. Today, whether we have small traders, small entrepreneurs, local artists and artisans, Digital India has given a platform, a market to everyone. Today, you go to a local market or vegetable market and see, even a small street vendor will tell you, not cash, do 'UPI'.
