5G adoption in India to jump to 40% in 2022

Adoption of 5G-enabled smartphones in India is expected to more than triple and account for 40% of sales volume contribution this year, against just 12% in 2021, international market research firm GfK said in a report.

However, the increase in 5G-enabled handsets could simultaneously result in spiking the overall price of handsets sold in the Indian smartphone market in 2022, the report added, pointing out that 5G handsets were priced 117% above the average selling price of ₹15,000 in India this year.

In February, Counterpoint Research reported that India shipped more than 10 million 5G smartphones in 2021 for the first time, growing at 555% from the year before. Total smartphone shipments stood at 169 million last year, up 11%.

Kartik Vasudevan, strategic accounts director, India, at GfK, said the Department of Telecommunications’ decision to conduct 5G spectrum auctions this year has spurred interest in 5G devices as consumers want to “future proof” their devices. “5G enabled handsets will play a key role as India gets ready to roll out 5G services in the near future,” he added.

According to Faisal Kawoosa, founder and chief analyst at market research firm techARC, chipmakers are also pushing brands to use 5G chips in their new line-up of smartphones. “Chipmakers are not encouraging brands to buy 4G chips. They are offering them incentives to switch to 5G chips,” he said.

The pandemic-led supply chain disruption triggered a shortage of semiconductors in 2020, impacting multiple sectors. Though the supply has started to ease, chipmakers are still struggling to meet demand.

Kawoosa explained that the shortage was irrespective of 5G or 4G, but chipmakers are prioritising 5G chips, and allocating more resources to them. “Producing for a single tech is in their benefit as it gives them higher economies of scale," he added.

In addition to the push from chipmakers, the growing adoption of 5G chips can also be attributed to brands wanting to stay relevant and flaunt new features amid rapid market saturation. “It (5G) has also given brands something to talk about and promote their products as the latest in the industry to support 5G technology. Most brands want to show they have the latest technology,” adds Kawoosa.

Qualcomm, for instance, unveiled a new 5G modem that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to optimize 5G performance on smartphones, at the MWC 2022 last week. According to GfK’s Vasudevan, the true potential of 5G is yet to be released. “5G will be very important to drive some of the latest technologies of voice and camera applications which would be artificial intelligence (AI) driven,” he said.