India is the second-largest mobile phone market in the world. This market is very important for several mobile phone brands, especially those that focus on budget devices. However, over the past two years, the 5G network did not arrive the public space in India. Nevertheless, the 5G network was commercialized in India this year. Market research firm Counterpoint said on Thursday that India’s 5G mobile phone shipments will exceed 5G by the end of 2023. This is driven by the large-scale application of high-speed networks and rising sales of low-priced handsets. Shipments of 4G handsets.
5G mobile phones are getting more popular in India
Counterpoint adds that while overall mobile phone shipments in India will decline this year due to parts supply issues and other factors, 5G will also continue to drive mobile phone demand in 2023. India’s 5G data speeds are expected to be about 10 times faster than 4G. The network is seen as crucial to emerging techs such as self driving cars and AI.
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The share of 5G mobile phones in the low price segment (below INR 20,000 or $241.55) should surge from 4 per cent last year to 30 per cent in 2023, Counterpoint said. Reliance, the leading Indian telecom company, is teaming up with Alphabet Inc’s Google to launch a cheap 5G mobile phone after the company became the largest buyer in India’s $19 billion 5G spectrum auction in August. Cumulative shipments of 5G mobile phones will cross the 100 million mark in the second quarter of 2023. It will also surpass 4G mobile phone shipments by the end of 2023, according to Counterpoint.
The analyst firm expects constraints such as part supply shortages, inflation and geopolitical conflicts. These have been limiting the availability of 5G networks. However, the firm expects all these to ease by the end of 2023, leading to the mass adoption of 5G. Meanwhile, the Indian government wants to push Apple, Samsung and other phone makers to prioritize software upgrades to support the country’s 5G network.
