The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) yesterday issued a consultation paper on ‘Digital Transformation Through 5G Ecosystem’, aimed at popularising such a service and its usage to further a sustainable development of the country.

In a statement, the telecom and broadcast regulator said the objective of this consultation paper is to identify the policy challenges and suggest the right policy framework for faster adoption and effective utilisation of new technologies for the holistic and sustainable development of the economy driven by the 5G ecosystem.

However, the discussion has been initiated suo moto by TRAI without any other government organisation requesting the regulator to look into the 5G and developmental issues.

“India is undergoing a rapid digital transformation that is reshaping its economy and society. Fast and reliable mobile communication technologies are helping the government in realising the objectives of Digital India programme.

“It is providing a boost to our economy and empowering the citizens through services like unified payment interface (UPI) and several other innovative G2B and G2C applications. With the advent of technologies such as 5G, Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented/Virtual Reality (AR/VR) and Metaverse, India is poised to unlock new opportunities for growth and innovation,” a background paper issued by TRAI on the discussion paper stated.

The 5G service was launched in India on October 1, 2022 and the telecom service providers (TSPs or telcos) have been aggressively rolling out the 5G network across the country. The government too has taken several initiatives for building 5G infrastructure and promoting R&D, while the regulator has  made several recommendations for faster deployment of 5G network and services.

Issues like policy measures required to create awareness and promote use of Metaverse, protection against cyber attacks, trusting content and services accessed in the metaverse, modifications required in the existing legal framework with regard to safeguard IPRs form the basis of the over 150-page consultation and background paper.