Firms to increase ICT budget after 5G implementation

As 5G services are about to get implemented in the next two to five years, 50% of Indian businesses want to boost their budget allocation for Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and industry 4.0 use cases, according to a KPMG India’s Enterprise Digital Transformation Survey 2022. The key areas where companies are expected to deploy 5G include targeting efficiency, quality management, and new revenue models.

According to the survey, up to 20% return on investment (ROI) is anticipated by over 85% of Indian businesses industries for 5G and industry 4.0 use cases. Applications including non-time-critical communication, seamless ecosystem connectivity, connected items, and distant operations are likely to generate the highest returns.

The survey included more than 350 global companies across the manufacturing, healthcare, smart cities and utilities, telecom, media, and technology verticals. It anticipates that the main technical and commercial challenges for the introduction of 5G in the nation would be integration with legacy networks, uneven network infrastructure, and low flexibility in the multi-vendor ecosystem.

“In the next 2-5 years, there is a visible increase in the quantum of budget allotted for ICT as well as 5G / industry 4.0 use cases. More than 85 per cent of enterprises across multiple sectors are expecting up to 20 per cent ROI on various 5G/industry 4.0 use-cases,” the survey said.