Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad Inaugurates India Mobile Congress 2019

The India Mobile Congress 2019, the largest digital technology forum in South Asia, which is jointly organised by the Department of Telecommunications, Government of India and COAI, inaugurated by Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad.

Launched for the first time in 2017, the Digital Technology Forum has carved out a niche for itself by relentlessly delivering on its commitment towards building upon innovative ideas, forging lasting industry relationships, showcasing ace mobile technology and product trends, providing sectoral insights, industrial solutions, case studies and workshops that are immensely beneficial to the entire tech-telecom ecosystem at large.

Along with the Telecom Minister, Shri Anshu Prakash, Telecom Secretary, Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Mr. Malcolm Johnson, Deputy Secretary General, ITU; Mr. Jim Whitehurst, President and CEO, Red Hat, Mr. Rakesh Bharti Mittal, Managing Director and Co-Vice Chairman, Bharti Enterprises Ltd, Mr. Jay Chen, CEO, Huawei India were present at the ceremony. The inauguration ceremony was attended by over 3000 people from 40 partner countries, and included global speakers, policy makers, thought leaders, ambassadors, opinion makers, change agents, bureaucrats, investors and industry bigwigs. The event was attended by more than 25000 people on Day-1.

During the inauguration, Hon’ble Minister, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, stated that, “It gives us an immense pleasure to introduce the third edition of India Mobile Congress. Despite being the very economic backbone of the country and the harbinger of unmatched technological advancements, game-changing innovations and ensuring overall steady economic health, there has never been a platform that rightfully positions India’s telecom story to the rest of the world. India Mobile Congress is designed to address this very need. This Forum will delve into subjects that are contemporary, relevant and futuristic and will not only contribute in shaping policy decisions of the future but would also act as a facilitator in further amplifying and bolstering Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision of Make in India and Startup India. IMC 2019, will not only attract cross border investors, it will also witness the launch of several innovative products, encourage emerging startups, and promote futuristic technologies It is rightfully a veritable platform designed to help the country accomplish the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision of making India a truly digitally empowered economy.”

The session stressed on how the country is poised to become a 5 trillion economy by 2024. Telecom sector has a critical role to play in this growth. It is one of the prime support services needed for the growth of every other sector.

Though the telecom sector is in acute financial distress, Startups are hopeful of a positive future. The fact that so many Startups participated at IMC to showcase their innovation in the telecom and other allied space and their open resolve to collaborate with corporates across the globe, corroborates this fact.

Key Highlights of Day-1

Huawei

Huawei has announced the first in India deployment of Artificial Intelligence (AI) based Massive MIMO optimization technology in the Vodafone Idea network. AI enabled Massive MIMO enables Vodafone Idea to add automation capabilities to its network, greatly improving optimization efficiency, boosting cell capacity and enhancing end-user experience of the network.

Huawei also showcased Innovative & Inclusive 5G for India at IMC 2019, said we would like to go beyond 5G which is 5G + AI. Huawei demonstrated 5G + AI applications to empower operators and industries to lead in the 5G era and boost Digital India. Keeping 5G at the forefront and center of its showcase, Huawei at the India Mobile Congress 2019, demonstrated the potential power of a 5G enabled future with live 5G use-case applications. Huawei along with key partners showcased a variety of 5G-enabled applications not just in the telecommunications sector but beyond in vertical industries, with new applications in 5G + safe city, 5G + smart city, 5G + virtual reality (VR), 5G + airport (boarding gate) and 5G + education (smart classroom).

Intel

As the Intelligent Edge partner at India Mobile Congress, Intel showcased a wide gamut of solutions on telco cloud, smart space, intelligent traffic management, 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) based on Intel® architecture. Mr. Rajesh Gadiyar, Vice President, Data Center Group, and CTO, Network & Custom Logic Group for Intel participated in a panel discussion on ‘Global Strides in 5G Deployment: Roadblocks and Best Practices’, to discuss the status of global 5G deployment, the roadblocks being faced by countries that are nearing 5G implementation and the progress so far. Intel also shared insights on the most impactful transformations enabled by 5G, the role played by AI and IoT in enabling seamless connectivity across sectors and how software-defined networking (SDN) and network functions virtualisation (NFV) are bringing network transformation to meet bandwidth-intensive requirements for the future.

VVDN

VVDN is working to deliver the next generation 5G acceleration solutions that will not only implement the complex modules of 5G infrastructure but also position VVDN well ahead in 5G network solution space. VVDN has partnered with Xilinx to accelerate the above solutions in FPGA and this enables VVDN to develop 5G Acceleration IP’s along with the hardware. VVDN showcased its solution with live demos which would enable key partnerships with 5G equipment vendors, telecom operators and system integrators.

HFCL

HFCL today announced the launch of Next Generation Wi-Fi Technology products and solutions under its Brand - IO that shall meet the enormous global and Indian Wi-Fi network demand. IO Networks are globally benchmarked with features of Next-Gen technologies across all products that include Access Points (AP), Unlicensed Band Radio (UBR), Wireless LAN Controller (WLC), Element Management System (EMS), Cloud Network Management System (CNMS). IO is a platform that aims to bring in efficiency and intelligence to mobility and assist global citizens to use the most advanced Wi-Fi technology products & solutions while keeping a sharp focus on security and safety.

Bharti Airtel

Bharti Airtel showcased a range of exciting digital solutions for businesses and consumers at the India Mobile Congress 2019. Airtel demonstrated a wide range of use cases and applications for a world on connected things that leverage 5G and pre-5G network technologies.

Cloud Based Immersive Gaming: Airtel showcased immersive cloud-based gaming experience between multiple users over ultra-fast low latency Airtel 5G.

Secure Mining: Using 5G and a secure private network Airtel demonstrated how digital voice communication nd broadcasting of emergency messages, contributes to improved safety conditions and work environment in mines.

Smart Factory: Airtel showcased how Network slicing can help build multiple logical networks for smart factories of the future. These network slices, are completely separated and independent to the extent that if something goes wrong in one slice it will not affect the other slices. These sliced networks with ultra-low latency power manufacturing floor robots in smart factories and send real time data and analytics, allowing managers to send back real time instructions to the robots and optimize the manufacturing process.

Remote Healthcare: With extremely high throughput and low latency, 5G networks enable communication through the sense of touch using augmented reality technologies. Airtel demonstrated the next level of remote communication in a healthcare, allowing a doctor to maneuver a robot arm in real-time and examine medical patients in remote locations.

Smart Street Lighting Poles: Airtel’s smart pole platform are designed for energy efficient lighting and also offer other features such as surveillance cameras, and public address systems. The solution can be operated and managed remotely through a smart cloud based web platform.

Smart Charger: It is India’s first smart power bank rental service. The power bank provides fast charging and has inbuilt cables with all pin types. Solution has built an Internet of Things (IoT) platform to facilitate the shared economy use cases and to render a scalable, affordable, efficient and clean solution with a great user-experience.