Japan and India plan to partner on information and communications services, in an attempt to counter China's growing influence on telecommunications and digital infrastructure, Nikkei reports, citing unnamed Japanese government officials. The two governments will support the deployment of 5G networks, submarine fiber optic cables and other technologies to India from Japanese companies, the government officials said. Japan will also receive support from India in skilling professionals in the digital services field.
According to the same source, the partnership will involve projects totaling tens of billions of yen (hundreds of millions of dollars). Preparations are underway to sign a memorandum of understanding at an online meeting in December between Japanese Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Ryo ta Takeda and Ravi Shankar Prasad, India's telecommunications minister.
The planned partnership would include the use of 5G technology, as well as the development and international standardization of 6G technology, which is planned to be put into practical use in the 2030s. It will also include laying an undersea fiber-optic cable. The governments of the two countries plan to support Japanese companies' pursuit of Indian orders in these fields.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier announced plans to deploy a submarine fiber-optic cable to connect mainland India with the Lakshadweep islands, located to the southwest of the subcontinent.
Japan and India also plan to cooperate in educating professionals familiar with digital technologies. According to same source, although Japan is accelerating its reinforcement of cybersecurity and digitization of government services, it is short on professionals familiar with information technology and other digital tools. India, on the other hand, has a large number of qualified people in the field, and Japan hopes to gain Indian know-how to upskill its staff as part of the alliance.
