A MIND-BLOWING ROLLER-COASTER

As our dependence on telecom infrastructure grows exponentially, security and reliability of this infrastructure assumes ever greater importance

- R CHANDRASHEKHAR

For the millennial and Gen Z of today, it may be hard to imagine that the first mobile call in India was made just 25 years ago on 31 July 1995. The mobile device is now an integral part of our social and economic fabric. One cannot imagine life without it. The advent of the COVID crisis has made us much more aware of this reality. COVID has been on the ascendant in India since March 2020 and shows no signs of retreating anytime soon. The monitoring of exposure to COVID infection risk is now done via the Aarogya Setu app on the mobile. Healthcare regulations have been relaxed to allow and even encourage telehealth services. Wadhwani Institute for Artificial Intelligence in India is working on an AI-based mobile application for preliminary screening of patients for COVID, based on cough sounds. Visits to hospitals for treatment with or without COVID have become the last resort with remote health services being the preferred and less risky mode for both patients and medical personnel alike. Schools and colleges have all resorted to virtual classrooms to the extent feasible. Organizations, governments, and courts are conducting their business almost entirely in the virtual mode.

Nothing could have underlined the criticality and urgency of ensuring countrywide availability of mobile broadband services as effectively and emphatically as the present crisis has done. Mobile connectivity was already important before COVID-19 struck. It has now become critical, not only to the economy and society but to healthcare, education, and literally life itself. Mobile telephony is a critical national infrastructure more than ever before. Protecting, expanding, and modernizing it is unquestionably a major national priority.