In terms of speed and latency 5G is different from 4G which attains a peak speed of 1Gbps. 5G can have a peak speed of 20 Gbps and has lower latency than that of 4G. 5G makes possible autonomous cars, remote surgeries, telemedicine, tele-education. machine-to-machine communication. It enables convergence of services connecting various devices.

There are going to be 5G spectrum auctions in near future. The 700 MHZ premium 4G band can be used for 5G too, and its reserve price is likely to be lowered. The payment could be some amount upfront, a moratorium of 5 or 6 years and a two year annual EMI payment period.

The spectrum band for 5G usage are 3300 – 3670 MHz. In addition, there is milli-meter waveband ranging from 24.25 to 28.5 GHz. As we have already observed 700 MHz band and spectrum in 582-617 MHz can also be used.

Twitter Blue has been launched in June 2021. It is Twitter’s first subscription service. It offers exclusive access to premium features on a monthly subscription basis. Currently, the monthly subscription is $2.99 a month. It could be brought down to $2 a month. Elon Musk, the then largest shareholder and now a buyer of Twitter for $43 billion suggests Twitter Blue should have no ads. He also suggests payments through dogecoins. Twitter has not responded to these suggestions.

Twitter already lets people tip their favourite content creators using Bitcoin. It also plans to authenticate NFTs. Musk suggests a name change — Twitter with no ‘w’ in the spelling.

Surprisingly, short-form video app TikTok has outperformed both Twitter and SnapChat in terms of advertising revenue, and is expected to catch up with YouTube in ad revenue by 2024 by reaching a level of $23.6 billion. In India, TikTok has been banned in 2020, along with a host of other Chinese apps. This year its global ad revenues are expected to reach $11.6 billion (2022), SnapChat and Twitter together clocked in $10.44 billion. On an average a TikTok user spends 19.6 hours per month on the app which equals the user time spent on Facebook. Facebook is registering decline in its user base especially among millennials and Gen Z.

Facebook currently has ad revenues $118 billion in 2021. TikTok’s rise worries Facebook.

As we know, metaverse is shared digital environment available round the clock. It makes use of VR at times. Indian companies such as Tanishque, M&M, MakeMyTrip, Ceat and MG Motor do register their presence in metaverse. These companies make available the services to NFT owners. NFT ownership is validated by a long alphanumeric code that is difficult to hack. Tanishque has allowed guests to get a 3D experience of their jewellery — Romance of Poki. They can scan QR codes. M&M has auctioned their SUVs, using NFTs. MakeMyTrip sold vacation NFTs, each costing approximately Rs.15000. Ceat tries to integrate its tyre delivery and fitment service by creating a Ceat Shoppe in metaverse. MG Motors would like to sell NFTs for their products to the digital community.

In e-commerce space, we have players like Amazon and Flipkart. So far there is no full-fledged e-commerce policy. However, the sector is governed by rules framed by various departments such as consumer protection, competition, FDI and IT.

An e-commerce entity means any person who owns, operates, or manages digital or electronic facility or platform for electronic commerce. Mostly, India has followed the marketplace model where the inventory is owned by the sellers on board , and e-commerce platform just facilitates a transaction. It is thus an information technology platform on a digital or electronic network to facilitate transactions between buyers and sellers. The marketplace ensures that sellers provide products as per specifications and this information about the sellers is provided to the buyers so as to enable them to take an informed decision.

Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) wants to transform this sector from being platform-centric to an open network. It is akin to UPI transactions. It wants to democratise ecommerce. It is an intiative of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade.

It does not envisage a centralised platform. There will be buyer-side apps where consumers search for products. There will be seller-side apps which will onboard sellers. A buyer searches a product on buyer-app. It is multi-cast to all seller apps on criteria such as location, availability and other preferences. The buyer then chooses a seller.

ONDC does not expect you to deal with a single entity. It unbundles different services from a number of sellers. The logistics provider could also be a different entity. The concept is not restricted to the retail sector but can be extended, say to wholesale, mobility, food delivery, logistics, travel, urban services etc.

There is going to be seller appraisal in terms of the compliant products offered. This will be available to buyers.

There is a gateway between the buyer-side and seller-side app.

Whose liability is it for the product quality? How to deal with cancellations and returns? How to resolve consumer disputes? There should a system to assign proportional accountability.

There are issues about data privacy. The information is not shared at the ordering and filling stage. Only on order confirmation, the information is shared. It is exactly this leg that does not go through the gateway. There could be search packet encryption if needed. The system uses open API’s.

The big players of ecommerce could be roped in to participate in ONDC.

The government is working on rules to make it compulsory for ecommerce firms to show search results of several sellers, instead of just focusing on preferred sellers. It is called algorithmic fairness. The government wants to restrict ecommerce companies from sharing consumers’ buying behaviour with anyone. The idea is to make algorithms democratic for the consumers. These rules will be a part of the ONDC framework. These will apply to existing players in ecommerce too. The proposed framework seeks to control digital monopolies and create more inclusiveness within the digital ecosystem.

Banks can open Digital Banking units (DBUS) under RBI guidelines to enhance such digital banking in the interiors of the country. Instead of a brick-and-mortar bank branch, of late, digital banking is preferred. The guideline issued by the RBI apply to scheduled commercial banks (SCBs), and not to RRBs, payments banks and local area banks.

Each DBU will be designed in response to the needs of the digital users. DBUs must offer minimum digital banking products and services. Such products should be on both liabilities and assets side. To illustrate, on the liabilities side, banks must offer account opening services, digital kits for customers, internet banking, debit cards, credit cards. It will offer digital kits for merchants, including UPI QR codes, Aadhar and POS infrastructure.

A DBU onboards retail MSME customers, and offers schematic loans. It administers government-sponsored schemes. The seven specific services listed include cash withdrawal and deposit through ATMs and cash deposit kiosks.

DBU must have help lines and grievance redressal mechanism. Banks can use insourced or outsourced model for operations. The services will be aligned with the digital banking strategy of the bank. It will be headed by a senior executive (scale III and above or its equivalent in private sector such as COO).

It is a part of the retail banking segment.

India’s FM has declared that India proposes to set up ‘digital only’ NBFCs. India also is in the process of setting up digital banks, about 75 of them in 2022.

Among the wearables, Apple Watch is very popular. It provides one with the health insights and could become a life saving device. It is a watch–cum–fitness tracker. It measures B.P., heart rate, and even takes an ECG. It also tracks the mindfulness and sleep. Its latest series is called Series 7. Its available in 41 mm and 45 mm sizes. There is Blood Oxygen App available on it to measure the oxygen saturation in the blood. It generates an ECG with built-in electrodes. It captures the electric signals of the heart showing arterial fibrillation (irregular heart rhythm) or sinus rhythm ( normal heart rhythm). It captures the heart rate and gives alerts. It tracks the menstrual cycle. It tracks activity and workouts. It has an all-day 18-hour battery life. It has faster charging. Its estimated price is Rs.54000.

On metaverse, one can buy real estate or virtual property, in some virtual cities. This deal can be done by anyone by creating and selling virtual land. Some firms are creating virtual cities. The lands can be exploited by brands to build brand experience. People can play games on the metaverse, without actually buying the games. It can increase the value of virtual land. Many are open to this concept. The companies building virtual worlds divide it into smaller plots that are bought as NFTs.

IPL has invited tender for the media rights for the next five years (2023-2027). Some five years back, these rights were sold to Star Sports for Rs.16347 crore. It was composite rights. BCCI may earn more than Rs.50000 crore this time.

BCCI has put on table the TV and digital rights of IPL. (period 2023-2027). The rights are for India, and across the world. These rights have been put into four categories.

TV Rights for IPL in India

This is the most important category of rights. There are going to be 74 games each for the next five years. Each game has a base price of Rs.90 crore (This is double the existing base price). The number of games can be increased. The valuation in that case will be revised pro rata.

Digital Rights for IPL in India

The base price set for this category is Rs.12,200 crore. It indicates how the sports content is being consumed.

Rights of 18 Games (Opener + Four Play-Off matches)

It pertains to streaming services. A single platform has to pick up these services. The base price for this category is set at Rs.1440 crore.

Overseas TV and Digital Rights

It is expected to fetch a minimum of Rs.1100 crore.

According to informed sources, BCCI should get 1.3–1-5 times the base price. It comes to Rs.45000-50000 crore.

BCCI has done away with composite bids. Each category will be sold separately. A company can bid for any or all the categories. The winner will be the highest bidder in each category.

In India, there is proposed 5G roll out. The model used for this roll-out is open RAN or a system integrator model. RAN reduces costs and enhances productivity. O-RAN will also offer a plethora of cloud delivered services to enterprises and end users.

RAN or radio access network includes base station and antennas. These account for major chunk of cost. Since it is open network, telecoms can diversify supply chains. There is interoperability and agility. The use of open or virtualised radio networks reduce costs and enhance productivity.

RAN technology is yet to be tested fully. 5G is going to be software driven and open RAN gives much more flexibility to an operator to plan its network.

Bharti Airtel collaborates with TCS to implement 5G open RAN solution for roll-out. Reliance Jio is testing a home-made 5G solution.

5G or fifth generation wireless technology has an incredible transmission speed, say a whopping 1 gb. 5G technology to sustain itself uses base stations and towers which require uninterrupted power. There are two methods to do it — the use of diesel gensets or captive power plants. There should be investment in more power supply or sufficient power back up.