IDRBT launches 5G Use Cases Lab

Hyderabad: Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT), on Friday launched a 5G Use Cases Lab for the banking and financial sector and released a white paper on 5G applications for banking and financial sector in India.

While the 5G Use Cases Lab was launched by Amit Yadav, Joint Secretary, Department of Telecommunications; Anjana Dube, Deputy Director General, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, released the white paper.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr A S Ramasatri, Director, IDRBT, stressed on the importance of 5G and pointed out that the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 may see a splash of 5G.

"So the time is right to start working on 5G so that India is a thought leader in this new technology, rather than being a follower as in the case of some earlier technologies.

We will reap benefits and be able to leverage its advantages if we move fast. Multiple sectors and service providers need to work together to fully exploit the technology," he shared adding that the institute will initially be focusing on proof-of-concepts, parallel runs and deployable solutions for banks.

Amit Yadav, Joint Secretary, Department of Telecommunications, who launched the lab pointed out that "5G has already arrived with it being rolled out in the US and South Korea.

Since India is now the biggest user of mobile data in the world and the rates of devices and services have been dropping aggressively, 5G holds immense potential for the country.

Considering that the banking and financial sector is a key driver of IT in India and affordability leads to inclusion, the sector needs to leverage 5G for furthering financial inclusion."