New Delhi, Aug 17 (IANS): Roll-out of 4G technology with an increase in data, entry of new players in the market, introduction of digital wallets and the popularity of smartphones leading to consistent increase in demand for technology are likely to increase job opportunities in the telecom sector by 30 lakh by 2018, a study said here on Thursday.

Emerging technologies such as 5G, M2M and the evolution of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) are expected to create employment avenues for almost 8,70,000 individuals by 2021, revealed a joint study by Assocham-KPMG.

It said the existing manpower in the sector may not be adequate both in number as well as in skill to cater to the upcoming demand.

"There is a need to bridge the gap in skill which on the one hand would require identification of skilled manpower in diverse roles such as infra and cyber security experts, application developers, sales executives, infrastructure technicians, handset technicians etc. as well as on the other hand re-skilling of existing manpower working on existing technologies for them to be updated with upcoming requirements."

The Telecom Sector Skill Council has been set up to cater to the demands and skill needs of the telecom sector.

However, the industry recommended more targeted and specialised skill development programmes that would enhance existing manpower capabilities and availability to ensure uninterrupted development of the sector as a whole.

The telecom sector has grown at 19.6 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in terms of subscriber base and at 7.07 per cent CAGR from a revenue perspective over the last few years.

"TSPs (telecom service providers) have continued to invest in their networks and modernise their existing network infrastructure. Operators capital expenditure investments stands at Rs 85,003 crore during Q1 2017 and the below figure depicts the significant capital expenditure investment during the period 2012- 2016," stated the study.