Innovate in India to manufacture for global supply chain, says Jio’s Mathew Oommen

It’s time to innovate locally with an Indian Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) for global manufacturing needs while the telecom sector is facilitating the country to take a leadership position in innovation worldwide following the success of India’s maiden mission to Mars, the Mangalyaan, and Covid vaccine, a top executive of billionaire Mukesh Ambani-owned telco said.

“Now, this is not just about manufacturing in India, rather, I would say this is about innovating in India, creating the relevant IPR in India. All of these leading to a suite of products, platforms, and technologies that allows us to manufacture for India, as well as for the rest of the world,” Jio president Mathew Oommen said at the recently-concluded 5G Congress – 2021, organised by ETTelecom.

Last year, in the wake of shutdowns due to Coronavirus outbreak, the Centre has launched ambitious Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant campaign), and has recently introduced production-linked incentive or PLI scheme to develop and produce products locally.

The executive said that the telecom industry, being the critical pillar of the new economy, has a greater responsibility and accountability.

Everyone including service operators, over-the-top (OTT) players and satellite companies, according to him, must conform that for India and its people, privacy and security are never compromised.

“India is ready for mass deployment of 5G. Jio is ready. Let us start on the next phase of digital transformation where the 5G ecosystem transforms the way we work and play.

Oommen said that India had successfully launched Mangalyaan, the Mars Orbiter Mission and developed its own COVID vaccines, and the country is ready to be at the centrestage in global leadership.

The industry was able to make digital connectivity pervasive and affordable with the launch of fourth generation or 4G networks, he said.

In September 2016, Mumbai-based Jio launched pure-play 4G services on the back of freebies that triggered an intense market competition with voice and data prices coming hitting rock bottom, further impacting the telcos’ average revenue per user.

“I absolutely believe that we are helping the majority of India have access to basic connectivity, and how we shifted the Rs 250 per GB to less than Rs 10 per GB. Imagine the plight of our rural and critical and essential agrarian workforce, if they were not connected, and not informed our healthcare workforce during this pandemic when travel was at a standstill, the impact would have been catastrophic,” the top executive added.

Oommen said that the telco as a key industry player has helped the country to manage the impact of COVID-19 much better. “Now that does not mean we delay or even deny 5G. Now is the right time for us to collectively unleash the power of inclusive 5G and intelligent and distributed edge cloud.”

The telecom and digital platform industry, according to him, has the responsibility to offer equitable and affordable digital platforms across the nation, and only then the full potential of India could be leveraged to lead on the global stage.

“The Jio revolution that we’ve all experienced has not just augmented the telecom industry nationally but as we have all seen, it has brought to India, a suite of investments and global technology partners that will help realise the full potential of what India can and will deliver, and what we have done actually with the support of the larger telecom industry,” Oommen added.