Reliance Jio Effect: Airtel Join Hands With Tata Group For 5G Rollout In India

Airtel has joined hands with Tata Group for implementing Open-RAN-based 5G networks in India. Under this partnership, Airtel is planning to deploy the indigenous solutions that are developed by Tata Group. The pilot project is expected to start next year in January.

The Tata Group has already developed a state-of-the-art O-RAN-based Radio & NSA/SA Core. The company has also consolidated the telecom stack via its capabilities.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is using its global system integration, which helps both 3GPP and O-RAN standards. Notably, these 5G products developed with global standards. The 5G solutions are expected to help export opportunities.

"We are committed to building a world-class networking equipment and solutions business to address these opportunities in networking space," N. GanapathySubramaniam from the Tata Group/ TCS said.

Reliance Jio Using Own 5G Equipment

This development comes soon after Reliance Jio conducted 5G trials in Mumbai. The company has conducted trials with its own indigenously developed 5G equipment. The company has manufactured products with local firms. In addition, the company is planning to partner with foreign players with Ericsson, Nokia, and Samsung for the trials.

Reliance Jio trials will be bigger than any other telecom operator and likely to test networks in Delhi, Gujarat, and Hyderabad. Notably, Reliance Jio did not issue any official statement on the same, but still, the telco might add some rural areas to test its technology. Also, Reliance Industries Limited shared that its subsidiary Reliance Jio has partnered with Qualcomm technologies to develop 5G equipment in India.

For the unaware, Airtel already conducted 5G trials in Gurgaon. The telecom operator conducted trials on the 3500 MHz band and received 1 Gbps speed. Additionally, sources close to the development said that India's second-largest telecom operator Airtel is working with all Chinese smartphone makers for testing its 5G network.

It is worth mentioning that the Department of Telecommunication wants to reduce dependence on foreign players for the 5G equipment, which is why it already banned two of the Chinese brands. However, those are brands have been banned in almost all countries due to spying allegations, which is why Indian telcos partnered with Nokia, Samsung, and Ericsson.