ACCELERATING
INDIA
INDIA’S 5G FUTURE
In 2016, India had 23 million cellular Internet of Things (IoT) connections. By 2022 – when 5G is made available throughout the country – that number of connections will have surged to 191 million. It is beyond any doubt, then, that India is on the brink of a bright new connected future that will change every aspect of its citizens’ lives for the better. Already, it is a nation powering purposefully towards this.
With 5G, India’s digital transformation will accelerate across a number of industries. From the big-ticket buzz of driverless cars and smart homes, through to smart farming and connected healthcare, there will be benefits and opportunities for citizens and companies across the country.
SMART VILLAGES AND CITIES, WITH CONNECTED HEALTHCARE BEYOND BORDERS
Imagine a scenario where ultrasound information of pregnant women in rural villages can be transmitted to doctors in cities not just in India but anywhere on Earth for remote diagnosis, securely, in real-time. Or where emergency surgery is performed by robotic instruments, controlled remotely, and which, critically, suffers none of the latency or dropped connections that plague current technologies. For India, this sort of transformative, connected healthcare is the cornerstone of the 5G vision.
In larger cities, an IoT and Internet of Industrial Things (aka Industry 4.0) eco-system will enable smart street lighting and better surveillance, making communities safer for all. Real-time traffic management delivers easier journeys and real-time status updates via 5G smartphones or 5G connected cars for commuters. Smart buildings will react intelligently to the environment inside and out, optimising energy use and minimising the carbon footprint.
Already hard at work constructing that reality, Qualcomm™ is perfecting both the hardware and software to realize India’s 5G future, as it did with 3G and 4G.
Committing fully to developing and delivering 5G and IoT, Qualcomm™ is currently adding highly-innovative companies to its stable acquisition plans that keep it far ahead of other brands. Paired with the continued expansion of its powerful Snapdragon™ processors beyond smartphones to other connected devices, it is leading the connected technology charge in realizing India’s ambitions.
JOINING THE DOTS ACROSS THE ECO-SYSTEM, WITH SMART FARMING
Those ambitions even extend to radically altering India’s food chain, through so-called “smart farming”. By enabling data and real-time connections, farms can be “intelligent”, deliver precision agriculture and a sustainable, scalable, healthy food supply. For India, that’s a game-changer.
Through 5G and continued Qualcomm™ innovation, this is finally achievable. And we’re already seeing green shoots of “smart” rural thinking within connected frameworks.
Ultimately, through effective partnership with smart technologies and considered implementation, India’s 5G future has the power to push the boundaries of digital transformation to new socio-economic frontiers. With Qualcomm™ as the beating heart of such innovation, the journey there is already well underway.
NO STRINGS ATTACHED
Wireless technology has freed us from clunky, unsightly cables and given us the freedom to use and communicate through that technology almost anywhere. It’s also bringing inanimate objects to life through the Internet of Things, empowering everyday items with the capability to change our lives, and even our planet, for the better.
Think about it: what’s the real reason you love your smartphone? Is it the colour? The feel? Or is it because of all the things it enables you to do. And which has nothing to do with the way it looks or feels. In fact, it’s purely down to something you can’t see: the cutting-edge technology locked away deep inside.
Qualcomm inventions helped launch this révolution, and are now the heart of billions of devices around the world. Not just smartphones, but also tablets, cameras, fitness trackers, smartwatches, cars and more beyond. Indeed, since 2007 – when it doubled the processing power available in our phones by creating the first 1GHz processor – Qualcomm™ Snapdragon™ mobile platforms have been the benchmark for wireless innovation.
IN RELENTLESS PURSUIT OF REMARKABLE INNOVATION
But there’s a kicker. With wireless technology, research and development can never stop. The more a consumer is shown the true power of wireless Technology and the benefits that can deliver, the more they want. This exponential demand drives a relentless pursuit of game-changing innovation.
In 2018, this means devices must be capable of lightning-fast audio and video streaming (whether that’s 4K HDR or even 360-degree VR); of machine learning; of total control of complex devices such as drones; of battery power that can outlast even a power user’s extreme needs; of a processor that combines speed, power and efficiency to support any and all next-generation mobile experiences. But, crucially, it must also be ready to embrace what lies ahead.
With 5G and Gigabit LTE now on the horizon and, in India, 4G LTE leading us there, the need for developing robust wireless technology platforms through ceaseless R&D has never been greater. India is among several countries receiving a next-generation wireless upgrade thanks to those efforts, with a new Qualcomm™ platform offering 4G LTE for the first time ever in the market-dominating feature phones. This opens up new wireless connectivity and advanced LTE data services, including Voice over LTE (VoLTE) and Voice over Wi-Fi (VoWi-Fi). There's also improved power consumption, and up to 150Mbps download speeds. In a country where users are desperate to move up from 3G and even 2G, it’s a huge leap forward.
THE WIRELESS SOCIETY
For the tangible effect of such innovation in making even developing communities truly wireless societies, we can look to India’s small-scale fishing industry. A primary source of family income, new access to affordable devices packed with cutting-edge wireless smarts has radically overhauled the accuracy and efficiency of these small operations.
One such example is the Fisher Friend mobile app from Qualcomm™ Wireless Reach. This provides real-time weather and ocean condition updates to local fishermen with mobile devices, as well as the ability to track both inventory expenses and sales. Today, that app is being used by more than 2,000 fishermen and has even helped rescue 40 who have been caught out by fast-changing, dangerous weather conditions.
So whether it’s the latest greatest movie in 4K, or saving real lives in the real world, the raw power of wireless technologies is clear. This year, a massive 40 percent of the worldwide shipment of feature phones is estimated to be sold in India. Rest assured that deep within many of these, cutting-edge technology will be locked away, silently and invisibly pushing the boundaries of what's possible. And that back in the labs, R&D will continue to develop new connected futures for billions of devices, and with each, new opportunities for us all.
INNOVATION IN INDIA
India is the number one destination for innovation in Asia, and the third biggest startup base globally. And its appetite for new, creative thinking around technology is still growing. Earlier this year, the government of India hosted the Smart India Hackathon, an ambitious bid to harness the innovation potential in young adults to find smart governance solutions to the problems faced in the country’s digital journey.
In total, 29 different government ministries and departments came together and posed 598 problem statements for the hackathon.
And the world is taking notice. America sees India as a natural partner for innovation and is committed to growing a collaborative and dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystem. One such initiative is The Nexus Incubator Program. This collaboration between the American Center of the US Embassy in New Delhi and the IC2Institute of the University of Texas at Austin offers Indian start-ups access to a network of industry and government partners, as well as training with experts around world.
This year has also seen the launch of the India-Israel Global Innovation Challenge. The scheme is a bilateral innovation challenge with the backing of both country’s governments calling on Israeli and Indian startups to combine forces to develop solutions to some of the world’s most critical challenges in agriculture, water and digital health.
Creative Solutions For India’s Biggest Problems
The simple fact is that currently, India still lacks the ecosystem to exploit the full potential of IoT. And that potential is huge. Driven by innovation from startups, it has the power to transform the country, from making homes and farms “smart”, to developing apps that give rural populations remote access to doctors anywhere in the world. Did you know, for example, that in 2016, a study found that 80 percent of India’s doctors were serving just 28 percent of the population?
Stepping up to help tackle these problems, tech giant Qualcomm – itself a benchmark for innovation – is proactively seeking out and investing in India’s new thinkers. To support this, it launched its Design In India challenge in 2016. Announcing the winners early in 2017, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Qualcomm Technology Licensing, John Han, reiterated the company’s commitment.
“Qualcomm is passionate about innovation, every year we invest billions in risky R&D to invent technologies that bring advancements in various aspect of our lives,” he said. “With Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to transform India into a digitally empowered society, Qualcomm is committed to offering support to help India’s ecosystem to grow and cater to increasing consumer choices.”
Supporting The Challenge, Developing The Answers
Among the innovations shortlisted for 2017, healthcare is a constant. One project enables any conventional microscope to be smart and connected, enabling digital scans and archives of slides, data sharing and live consultations. Another posits a portable, wireless tele-medical solution to prescreen for breast cancer. Both use connected healthcare to achieve the common goal of saving lives.
In addition to medical technology, this year’s Design In India asks its 14 startups to focus on smart infrastructure, biometric devices, payment terminals, agricultural technology and rural IoT. And the response is already promising, with a Bluetooth smart irrigation controller among the 2017 shortlist that enables data collection and is controllable via a smartphone. The potential for this to help transform India into a global innovation hub for smart farming is huge.
“Innovation is at the heart of everything we do at Qualcomm,” says Jim Cathey, Senior Vice President & President, Asia Pacific & India, Qualcomm Technologies Inc. “We’ve set out to accelerate growth in the digital ecosystem and we are thrilled to see an overwhelming response for QDIC in its second consecutive year, with eight select technopreneurs ready to transform their ideas from concept to product stage at our Qualcomm Innovation Labs. We’re excited to help build a vibrant ecosystem that will scale to support the multifaceted needs of a truly hyper-connected world.”
Prime Minister Modi has set out his vision of transforming India into a digitally empowered society that will enhance each of its citizens’ lives for the better. With the support of innovators like Qualcomm collaborating with the country’s brightest new thinkers, no challenge is insurmountable.
