New Delhi: India’s telecommunication major Bharati Airtel on Monday announced a strategic partnership with IT services behemoth Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) for implementing the 5-G broadband network solutions in the country.
The Tatas have developed a ‘state-of-the-art’ O-RAN (Open Radio Access Network) based Radio and NSA/SA Core, and integrated an entirely indigenous telecom stack, leveraging the Group’s capabilities and that of its partners. This will be available for commercial development starting January 2022, reports said.
In their partnership, Airtel will pilot this indigenous solution during its 5-G rollout. The pilot project will begin in January 2022 in accordance with the Government of India’s guidelines.
“With its world-class technology ecosystem and talent pool, India is well-positioned to build ground-breaking solutions and applications for the world. This will also provide a massive boost to India becoming an innovation and manufacturing destination,” said Gopal Vittal, MD and CEO (India and South Asia), Bharti Airtel.
The 5-G solutions, once commercially proven in Airtel’s diverse and brownfield network will open export opportunities for India, which is now the second-largest telecom market in the world after China.
Airtel is a Board member of the O-RAN Alliance and is committed to explore and implement O-RAN-based networks in India. Earlier this year, Airtel became the first telecom company in India to demonstrate 5-G over its LIVE network in Hyderabad. The firm has started 5-G trials in major cities using spectrum allocated by the Department of Telecommunication.
Other Indian telecom players such as Reliance Jio have also commenced 5-G trials at a time the experts fear that the prolonged second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic will delay the countrywide rollout of the technology.
(VP)