Executives with Airtel Business and Reliance Jio told an industry conference the price of 5G reduced capability (RedCap) is restricting uptake, but backed demand in their home market along with China to ultimately see the development come good, ETTelecom reported.
The newspaper reported Siddharth Talawadekar, VP and business head for IoT with Airtel Business, and Mohan Raju, VP and vertical head of IoT with Jio, each agreed on the cost issue, but also on the prospects for 5G RedCap once devices and use cases begin to multiply.
Speaking at the ETTelecom 5G Congress 2025, Talawadekar emphasised an outlay is still required despite RedCap requiring only updated software, the newspaper wrote.
The Airtel Business executive backed the segment to pick up pace, fuelled by deployments in India and China which, in turn, would result in lower device costs.
ETTelecom reported Raju asserted the industrial uses for 5G RedCap would drive the technology, pointing to automation and surveillance as key opportunities.
He added the sheer volume of devices which will eventually be involved would help to create something of a self-fulfilling prophecy in terms of lowering the cost of hardware.