European nations are asking questions about India’s locally produced 4G and 5G stack, which was built by a consortium of C-DoT, Bharat Sanchar Nigam, and Tata Consultancy Services.
According to analysts, the stack’s low cost of construction and extensive testing in one of the world’s most complicated telecom markets are what has sparked an interest.
The decision is noteworthy given the tense relationship between the US and China following the former’s ban on the sale of Huawei and ZTE’s equipment in the US due to concerns about espionage, which led many other nations in Europe and Asia to follow suit.
Currently, a few nations—Nokia and Ericsson in Europe and Samsung in South Korea—control the development of 4G and 5G technologies and related hardware. China is ahead of the US in terms of 5G subscriber base and coverage because of its advanced 5G technology development and deployment.
India is firmly establishing itself as a rival location for telecom technology, and 6G development will also get underway.
The government’s determination to deploy exclusively indigenous technology for Bharat Sanchar Nigam’s 5G services and the much-delayed 4G network rollout led to the endeavour to develop an indigenous stack. After pushback from domestic telecom equipment manufacturers, a previous RFP that requested a global tender was dropped.
The consortium led by C-Dot was given the contract to roll out 4G services after several detours and demonstrations of “proof of concept,” which is anticipated to happen in the next months. By the Fourth of July of the following year, 5G should be operational.
C-DOT has finished work on the critical domestically designed 5G non-standalone core in addition to creating the 4G stack and the radio. Contrary to international telecom equipment manufacturers, where telcos are forced to use proprietary technology, this hardware is independent.
To power 5G services, C-Dot is also constructing an indigenous independent core. Building a 5G radio access network and a telco-grade 5G radio are the other initiatives. These will provide telcos with the freedom to purchase software and hardware from a variety of vendors, cutting their costs.
Global manufacturers like Nokia and Ericsson sell integrated proprietary hardware and software that offers no user flexibility.
Tejas Software, which has manufacturing capabilities for telecom hardware, was acquired by Tata Consultancy Services, which can play a vital role in being an integrator (software and hardware) for developing the telecom network.
Even Reliance Jio has created a 5G core and radios of its own, and it has made it known that it would also export this technology.
It has partnered with leading global ODM company Sanmina to produce certain 5G radios at their joint venture facility in the nation. However, it has also awarded firms like Nokia and Ericsson contracts to help it spread out its 5G networks.
Reliance Jio, according to a top corporate official, has end-to-end 5G technology that consists of the core, radios, and software. This technology is what makes up its plan.