India Mobile Congress 2019: What We Expect to See This Year?

This year’s event is likely to showcase more of 5G technology, building smart homes and slew of Indian startups.

It’s that time of the year, once again, when the India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2019 will be hosting a slew of telecom operators and local as well as global startups.

These entities will showcase their suite of 5G applications, as well as products that will power the next generation in connectivity.

You’ll have the telecom ministry deeply involved with industry conversations, but in addition to all this, there’ll be exciting gadgets and tech features that will catch our eye. Here’s a look at everything we expect to see at the third edition of India Mobile Congress, starting from 14 October.

Time for 5G, Again

We’ve seen it last year, and we’re most likely to see 5G-related products and showcases from telcos and partnering hardware companies. Many expected the 5G auctions to kickstart the Indian 5G era in 2019 but we’ve not even reached to the point where telcos are keen for the 5G auctions to take place just yet.

The likes of Airtel, Vodafone Idea and even Reliance Jio has asked for postponing of the 5G spectrum auction and this event could give us more details into that.

Interestingly, Huawei, which has been in the news for its trade war with the US, has managed to find a spot at the IMC 2019 and all eyes will be on the Chinese telecom giant and what it has to say about scope of 5G in India.

Indian Startups Catch the Eye

Last year, we came across a startup with air-conditioner helmet, portable payment devices that work offline and plenty more. They usually don’t make the headlines but as we’ve seen before, startups from different parts of the country do tend to showcase unique products and we’re expecting something similar this year as well.

Products, Of Course

We don’t have the full schedule for the event yet, but Honor, the sub-brand of Huawei is expected to launch its smart TVs at the IMC 2019 next week. Apart from that, you’ll have other phone makers showcasing their range of devices, and even processor manufacturers like Mediatek will have something to talk about.

Broadband Takes the Centrestage with Digital Home

Reliance Jio demoed its scope for JioFiber services last year, and now, we expect other operators and internet providers to enter the digital home arena as well. Airtel is likely to showcase its Xstream device, which shows TV content as well as OTT platforms. The connected car ecosystem could also get a boost at this year’s edition of IMC and we’d expect other services to be displayed as well.

As always, we’ll be on the ground during the event and get you all the latest updates and interesting products from the IMC 2019. Stay tuned with The Quint.