Indian telecommunications major, Bharti Airtel, on Monday, announced a strategic collaboration with multinational conglomerate Tata Group to accelerate deployment of 5G networks solutions in India. Under the partnership, the companies will be deploying Open-RAN-based 5G radio and core solutions developed indigenously by Tata Group. Airtel will be piloting this indigenous solution during its 5G rollout from January 2022 according to the guidelines laid down by the Government of India.
Tata Group-owned Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Airtel have joined hands for “Made in India” 5G initiative. The strategic partnership highlights an effort to focus on and implement locally-developed 5G solutions in India as the second-largest telecom market in the world is all set up to roll-out fifth generation mobile networks to accelerate seamless and ultra-high connection between virtually every device. Tata Group has developed Open Radio Access Network based Radio (O-RAN) and NSA/SA Core and has incorporated a completely locally developed telecom stack by leveraging the telecom capabilities of the Tata Group and its partnerships. The ‘Made in India’ 5G products and solutions adhere to global standards and have interoperability with products based on standard open interfaces and those defined by the ORAN Alliance. Airtel will be leveraging system integration and offering technology of TCS. MD and CEO of Bharti Airtel for India and South Asia operations, Gopal Vittal said the company was delighted to collaborate with the Tata Group to make India a global destination for 5G and allied technologies and this collaboration is expected to put India at the frontline of developing cutting-edge solutions and applications for the world. This is also expected to provide a robust boost to India in becoming a destination for innovation and manufacturing.
At the beginning of the year, Airtel became the first telecom operator to demonstrate 5G over its LIVE network in Hyderabad, India and the company has also started 5G trials across major cities in the country. With the latest collaboration, the telecom major is all geared up to take on big rivals such as Reliance Jio, which is already working on trials for its indigenously developed 5G network.
