The Chronicles of 5G deployment in India : News and Updates

Postponement of Modi-Abe meet nixed 5G test-bed trial

The summit was scheduled between December 14 and 17 but was called off at Tokyo’s request.

Updated: Jan 01, 2020, 07:58 IST
By Shishir Gupta
Hindustan Times, New Delhi
1577856364839.png

Japan will showcase its 5G technology during the July-August 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.(Reuters)

One of the unintended, yet significant, consequences of the postponement of the Narendra Modi-Shinzo Abe summit in Guwahati this month because of the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests in Assam was the nixing of an announcement of 5G test-bed trials with special strategic partner Japan.

The summit was scheduled between December 14 and 17 but was called off at Tokyo’s request.

While the telecom ministry has opened the 5G trials to all global entities, the Guwahati summit was to showcase the 5G technology with both Prime Ministers using special visual glasses to scan the mighty Brahmaputra river, according to top officials. The groundwork for the test-bed trials with Japanese collaboration was laid during a visit by Prof K Vijay Raghavan, principal scientific advisor to the government ,and India’s cybersecurity chief Lt Gen (Retd) Rajesh Pant, along with a senior ministry of external affairs official, to Tokyo in September.

Japan will showcase its 5G technology during the July-August 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Although the telecom ministry has looked at the 5G technology purely from a commercial viewpoint by inviting all players, including Chinese giant Huawei,national security planners understand the leverage and long-term impact of this future technology.

“First of all we must ensure very strict integrity pact with India’s global 5G partner with provision of heavy penalties being levied on the main supplier even if its ancillary units open the back door. Secondly, India must use 5G technology to diplomatically and commercially leverage a deal with the supplier country. We should be able to answer the question on what is in it for India,” said a senior official. India has already noted that western countries led by US have barred Huawei because of doubts over long-term data integrity.

With Prime Minister Modi being seized of the matter, it is quite evident that the very-soon-to be established Core Information and Communication Technology (Core-ICT) commission will be at the heart of the 5G decision. The new Commission will take India towards the path of 5% share of the global market with a revenue potential of Rs 700,000 crore in the next 10 years.

There are strong indications within the government that former Telcom Secretary Aruna Sundararajan, a 1982 batch Indian Administrative Service officer, is the front runner to head the commission, which was proposed by the policy think tank Niti Aayog exactly a year ago.

The commission, with full executive and financial powers with a budget of over ~100 crore, will have 15 part-time members including the principal secretary to PM and the cabinet secretary.

Even though the Scandinavian countries have also been at the forefront of the 5G technology, it is evident that national interest will prevail over commercial interest in India’s case.

Postponement of Modi-Abe meet nixed 5G test-bed trial
 
MEA sets up emerging technologies division

The Ministry of External Affairs announced the setting up of New, Emerging and Strategic Technologies (NEST) division. This will look into the issues pertaining to new and emerging technologies and will help in collaboration with foreign partners in the field of 5G and artificial intelligence which are in line with India’s security goals.


By Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury
Updated: Jan 02, 2020, 09.09 AM IST, PTI
1577966003074.png

Minister for External Affairs, GoI, S. Jaishankar

The external affairs ministry on Wednesday announced the setting up of new, emerging and strategic technologies (NEST) division. The development comes close on the heels of the government allowing all network equipment makers, including Huawei, to participate in 5G trials.

NEST will act as the nodal division within the ministry for issues pertaining to new and emerging technologies, officials told ET. It will help in collaboration with foreign partners in the field of 5G and artificial intelligence.

Its mandate shall include, but not be limited to, evolving India’s external technology policy in coordination with domestic stakeholders and in line with India’s developmental priorities and national security goals. It will also help assess foreign policy and international legal implications of new and emerging technologies and technology-based resources, and recommend appropriate foreign policy choice.

1577965916725.png


Speaking at the Ramnatha Goenka Memorial lecture recently, foreign minister S Jaishankar had said that “technology, connectivity and trade are at the heart of new contestations”. Many of the new and emerging technologies have significant implications for diplomacy, national security and global rule-making.

NEST will negotiate technology governance rules, standards and architecture, suited to India’s conditions, in multilateral and plurilateral frameworks.

It will also undertake creation of HR capacity within the ministry for technology diplomacy work by utilising the existing talent-pool and facilitating functional specialisation of foreign service officers in various technology domains.

MEA sets up emerging technologies division
 
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MEA sets up emerging technologies division

The Ministry of External Affairs announced the setting up of New, Emerging and Strategic Technologies (NEST) division. This will look into the issues pertaining to new and emerging technologies and will help in collaboration with foreign partners in the field of 5G and artificial intelligence which are in line with India’s security goals.

By Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury
Updated: Jan 02, 2020, 09.09 AM IST, PTI
View attachment 12603
Minister for External Affairs, GoI, S. Jaishankar

The external affairs ministry on Wednesday announced the setting up of new, emerging and strategic technologies (NEST) division. The development comes close on the heels of the government allowing all network equipment makers, including Huawei, to participate in 5G trials.

NEST will act as the nodal division within the ministry for issues pertaining to new and emerging technologies, officials told ET. It will help in collaboration with foreign partners in the field of 5G and artificial intelligence.

Its mandate shall include, but not be limited to, evolving India’s external technology policy in coordination with domestic stakeholders and in line with India’s developmental priorities and national security goals. It will also help assess foreign policy and international legal implications of new and emerging technologies and technology-based resources, and recommend appropriate foreign policy choice.

View attachment 12602

Speaking at the Ramnatha Goenka Memorial lecture recently, foreign minister S Jaishankar had said that “technology, connectivity and trade are at the heart of new contestations”. Many of the new and emerging technologies have significant implications for diplomacy, national security and global rule-making.

NEST will negotiate technology governance rules, standards and architecture, suited to India’s conditions, in multilateral and plurilateral frameworks.

It will also undertake creation of HR capacity within the ministry for technology diplomacy work by utilising the existing talent-pool and facilitating functional specialisation of foreign service officers in various technology domains.

MEA sets up emerging technologies division
As usual, we'd take the long & circuitous route instead of amalgamation of the commerce ministry with the MEA & create NEST as an adjunct within the Commerce ministry.
 
‘Concerned’ Army red-flags possibility of China’s Huawei 5G services entering India

Army officers say there is a risk that China will get access to India's military communication with 5G network. Concerns expressed by Navy & IAF too.


By Snehesh Alex Philip
15 January, 2020 5:19 pm IST
338092585_1-14-696x391.jpg

Huawei is embroiled in controversy over security concerns in many countries | Photo: Qilai Shen | Bloomberg

New Delhi: The Army has red-flagged the possibility of Chinese 5G services being introduced in the country, saying there is a huge security risk and that such services could compromise the entire command and communication structure of the Indian military, ThePrint has learnt.

Sources said the Army along with the Navy and the Air Force had given its inputs on the 5G technology to the government like many other agencies and departments.

After due deliberations, the Narendra Modi government has however allowed all network equipment makers, including China’s Huawei, to participate in 5G trials.

“We have our own concerns with regard to Chinese 5G that has been put forward to the government. From our point of view, there is a big chance of our command and communication systems getting compromised,” a senior military officer told ThePrint.

Sources said the main worry is that the Chinese will be able to beat all competition because of their prices.

“The Chinese 5G technology will come the cheapest and they will emerge as the lowest bidder. India’s procurement policy is based on the lowest bidder concept,” another officer told ThePrint.

He explained that the cost of the low bid will come at a big price.

“Do we have the wherewithal to ensure that the systems are not compromised and everything is in place? Once the 5G network rolls out, the data will be super fast and slowly every system will be run on it and this is where the risk is,” the officer explained.

All three military arms raise concerns

Officers explained that the risk is China, which India is racing to defend itself against with better weapons and infrastructure along the northern and eastern borders, will get access to Indian military communication through some kind of a back-door.

They said the concerns have been expressed by all the three Services — the Army, the Navy and the IAF.

India is caught in a diplomatic and economic tussle between the US and China over the 5G network.

The US has been at the forefront of opposing the Chinese 5G plans citing security concerns. It has been pressurising allies and friendly countries, including India, to bar Huawei from 5G deployments, citing the company’s alleged proximity to the Chinese government.

China has on its part warned India of economic consequences if Huawei were excluded from 5G development and deployments.

While countries like Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Taiwan have barred Huawei out of 5G deployments, others such as France, the Netherlands, Russia and South Korea have allowed the Chinese firm to participate.

Canada, the UK, Germany, Italy and Indonesia are among those currently on the fence.

The US has warned the British government it “would be madness” to use Huawei technology in its 5G network.

A US delegation presented the UK this week with new evidence claiming to show security risks posed by using the Chinese firm.

In June, the Department of Telecommunications had approved a one-year 5G trial period with focus on three big social sectors — education, agriculture, waste management and healthcare.

'Concerned' Army red-flags possibility of China's Huawei 5G services entering India
 
5G story should be about Indian tech and skills, not allowing China’s Huawei in

Although Modi government has said Huawei will only participate in 5G trials, the fear is it will be difficult to stop the Chinese firm from securing contracts.


By Saurav Jha
22 January, 2020 9:43 am IST
5G-696x392.jpg

An employee using a smartphone walks past a signage for the 5G Park at the Huawei Technologies Co. headquarters in Shenzhen, China. | Photographer: Qilai Shen | Bloomberg

The Narendra Modi government’s recent decision to allow Huawei to partner with domestic telecom companies for 5G spectrum trials is likely to cause a flutter across the establishment – from the Indian Army to the NITI Aayog.

After all, both these institutions have already expressed serious reservations – the Army because of the same security concerns that led the United States and Australia to ban Huawei from participating in 5G trials; and the NITI Aayog, because it wants domestic alternatives that are currently under development to also be explored.

Even though the Modi government has said that Huawei has been cleared only for the trials, there is a fear that it will be difficult to stop the Chinese firm from securing contracts once it gets to demonstrate its capability.

The Huawei factor

Huawei currently has both technological and cost-related advantage over its competitors in Frequency Range 1 (FR1) – less than 6 gigahertz (GHz), which is one of the two ranges specified for 5G ‘New Radio’ global standards; the other being Frequency Range 2 (FR2) – of 24-100 GHz, that is, in the millimetre wave (MMW) band. Incidentally, the Americans believe they have the technological advantage in the MMW band, which is why Huawei has been in their crosshairs in the recent past. Washington seems eager to prevent Huawei from locking in customers in FR1 and attaining formidable economies of scale, which will make it difficult for American companies to spread FR2-based solutions.

Now, India’s Department of Telecommunications will likely hold trials for both FR1 and FR2. But New Delhi is not in a hurry because of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)’s desire to have some of the MMW band sequestered for itself. In fact, India joined China, Russia, and Japan in opposing the use of 26 GHz for 5G operations at the World Radio Congress in November 2019, even as the US pushed for it. As such, Indian telecom companies (telcos) that currently seem focussed on FR1 are likely to be susceptible to Huawei’s offerings. Two out of India’s four major telcos have already indicated that they are open to partnering with Huawei for the trials.

The US-China ‘tech’ war has made Huawei even more desperate to lock in overseas markets while it still can, since its cost advantages may get eroded on account of having to indigenise critical components such as chipsets. Given that motivation, Huawei is also likely to offer generous lines of credit to India’s debt-ridden telcos. Vendors like Huawei typically offer end-to-end solutions for 5G infrastructure that are essentially ‘black boxes’ for the customer.

5G needs domestic equipment

Even if one of India’s major telcos chooses Huawei as its vendor for the 5G rollout, it will be a scary prospect for India to have a significant part of its future economic vitality depend on a vendor from a country with which it has a vast disputed frontier, characterised by intermittent tensions. 5G is not merely a next-generation wireless technology; it is projected to emerge as a true ‘general purpose technology’ (GPT), like electricity, over the next decade or so. All pillars of the future economy, whether smart city or industry 4.0 or driverless cars, will ride on it.

In that sense, no serious country can deploy a GPT like 5G with mostly imported intellectual property or equipment, whether acquired from China or a supposedly friendly nation. You might as well build your future on quicksand. This is precisely why Vietnam’s Viettel has persevered to develop its own 5G technology demonstrator and aims to deploy a large network in 2020 with domestic equipment.

Huawei’s case is egregious since it is subject to China’s 2017 National Intelligence Law, which urges it to ‘support, assist and cooperate with the state intelligence work in accordance with the law’; and a 2014 Counter-Espionage Law, which says that ‘when the state security organ investigates and understands the situation of espionage and collects relevant evidence, the relevant organizations and individuals shall provide it truthfully and may not refuse’.

Imported 5G systems do not only pose a threat to data security but would have extended the risk to everything by the 2030s, once the internet of things becomes ubiquitous.

India shows signs but more work needed

It is not as if New Delhi is unaware of what is at stake. The Department of Telecom funded the development of a $34 million ‘large scale’ 5G tech demonstrator at IIT Madras in 2018. This demonstrator, set up as a result of a multi-institutional initiative involving several IITs and IISc, is currently being tested with encouraging results. The operating range includes both FR1 and FR2 bands, and the 5G testbed has ‘user equipment, customer premise equipment and all the base stations including antennas, multiple-input and multiple-output or MIMO systems, millimetre wave antennas, the front, and the backhaul to the processing units’.

Based on initial results, IIT Madras believes that the system will exceed current 3GPP 5G performance requirements – the global standard. Apart from a few packages for which the standard essential patents (SEPs) reside with South Korea and China, the software has been developed in India.

Most of the equipment used by this testbed has been made in India, and IIT Madras believes that with the right kind of governmental support, Indian vendors can even scale up their output to support a much larger version of this demonstrator to encompass a territory the size of Delhi. Various stakeholders believe that such a venture can be up and running within 24 months. Naturally, chipsets used in domestically supplied network equipment continue to be those designed and built in foreign countries. Although, IIT Hyderabad has been working on an indigenous chip for 5G base stations and can do more if funds are made available. At least three new 5G-related chipsets are currently under development in India, although they will be fabricated abroad given the continued absence of a commercial semiconductor foundry in India.

IIT Hyderabad has also developed a unique nonlinear massive MIMO technology, which can more than triple the network capacity.

Unfortunately, for such SEP ideas to be incorporated into 3GPP’s specifications, India will have to mount a proper national-level effort beyond what the Telecommunications Standards Development Society, India (TSDSI) has done till date.

India must realise that 5G is not an arena where a Huawei is competing with a Qualcomm or a Samsung; it is a geo-economic battleground where China is competing with the US or South Korea. Incentivising the use of homegrown systems and software by domestic telcos is a must if 5G vendors in India have to attain any sort of scale. For this, the licensing agreements for 5G spectrum must include domestic value addition clauses. Given that the Supreme Court of India has directed telcos to clear the Rs 1.4 lakh crore dues to the Modi government, one would think that New Delhi has some leverage to make them realise the importance of buying at home, even if it turns out to be somewhat more expensive. 5G is too important to be left to the telcos.

The author is a former consultant to FICCI’s International Division and Chief Editor of Delhi Defence Review. His Twitter handle is @SJha1618. Views are personal.

5G story should be about Indian tech and skills, not allowing China's Huawei in
 
5G story should be about Indian tech and skills, not allowing China’s Huawei in

Although Modi government has said Huawei will only participate in 5G trials, the fear is it will be difficult to stop the Chinese firm from securing contracts.

By Saurav Jha
22 January, 2020 9:43 am IST
5G-696x392.jpg

An employee using a smartphone walks past a signage for the 5G Park at the Huawei Technologies Co. headquarters in Shenzhen, China. | Photographer: Qilai Shen | Bloomberg

The Narendra Modi government’s recent decision to allow Huawei to partner with domestic telecom companies for 5G spectrum trials is likely to cause a flutter across the establishment – from the Indian Army to the NITI Aayog.

After all, both these institutions have already expressed serious reservations – the Army because of the same security concerns that led the United States and Australia to ban Huawei from participating in 5G trials; and the NITI Aayog, because it wants domestic alternatives that are currently under development to also be explored.

Even though the Modi government has said that Huawei has been cleared only for the trials, there is a fear that it will be difficult to stop the Chinese firm from securing contracts once it gets to demonstrate its capability.

The Huawei factor

Huawei currently has both technological and cost-related advantage over its competitors in Frequency Range 1 (FR1) – less than 6 gigahertz (GHz), which is one of the two ranges specified for 5G ‘New Radio’ global standards; the other being Frequency Range 2 (FR2) – of 24-100 GHz, that is, in the millimetre wave (MMW) band. Incidentally, the Americans believe they have the technological advantage in the MMW band, which is why Huawei has been in their crosshairs in the recent past. Washington seems eager to prevent Huawei from locking in customers in FR1 and attaining formidable economies of scale, which will make it difficult for American companies to spread FR2-based solutions.

Now, India’s Department of Telecommunications will likely hold trials for both FR1 and FR2. But New Delhi is not in a hurry because of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)’s desire to have some of the MMW band sequestered for itself. In fact, India joinedChina, Russia, and Japan in opposing the use of 26 GHz for 5G operations at the World Radio Congress in November 2019, even as the US pushed for it. As such, Indian telecom companies (telcos) that currently seem focussed on FR1 are likely to be susceptible to Huawei’s offerings. Two out of India’s four major telcos have already indicated that they are open to partnering with Huawei for the trials.

The US-China ‘tech’ war has made Huawei even more desperate to lock in overseas markets while it still can, since its cost advantages may get eroded on account of having to indigenise critical components such as chipsets. Given that motivation, Huawei is also likely to offer generous lines of credit to India’s debt-ridden telcos. Vendors like Huawei typically offer end-to-end solutions for 5G infrastructure that are essentially ‘black boxes’ for the customer.

5G needs domestic equipment

Even if one of India’s major telcos chooses Huawei as its vendor for the 5G rollout, it will be a scary prospect for India to have a significant part of its future economic vitality depend on a vendor from a country with which it has a vast disputed frontier, characterised by intermittent tensions. 5G is not merely a next-generation wireless technology; it is projected to emerge as a true ‘general purpose technology’ (GPT), like electricity, over the next decade or so. All pillars of the future economy, whether smart city or industry 4.0 or driverless cars, will ride on it.

In that sense, no serious country can deploy a GPT like 5G with mostly imported intellectual property or equipment, whether acquired from China or a supposedly friendly nation. You might as well build your future on quicksand. This is precisely why Vietnam’s Viettel has persevered to develop its own 5G technology demonstrator and aims to deploy a large network in 2020 with domestic equipment.

Huawei’s case is egregious since it is subject to China’s 2017 National Intelligence Law, which urges it to ‘support, assist and cooperate with the state intelligence work in accordance with the law’; and a 2014 Counter-Espionage Law, which says that ‘when the state security organ investigates and understands the situation of espionage and collects relevant evidence, the relevant organizations and individuals shall provide it truthfully and may not refuse’.

Imported 5G systems do not only pose a threat to data security but would have extended the risk to everything by the 2030s, once the internet of things becomes ubiquitous.

India shows signs but more work needed

It is not as if New Delhi is unaware of what is at stake. The Department of Telecom funded the development of a $34 million ‘large scale’ 5G tech demonstrator at IIT Madras in 2018. This demonstrator, set up as a result of a multi-institutional initiative involving several IITs and IISc, is currently being tested with encouraging results. The operating range includes both FR1 and FR2 bands, and the 5G testbed has ‘user equipment, customer premise equipment and all the base stations including antennas, multiple-input and multiple-output or MIMO systems, millimetre wave antennas, the front, and the backhaul to the processing units’.

Based on initial results, IIT Madras believes that the system will exceed current 3GPP 5G performance requirements – the global standard. Apart from a few packages for which the standard essential patents (SEPs) reside with South Korea and China, the software has been developed in India.

Most of the equipment used by this testbed has been made in India, and IIT Madras believes that with the right kind of governmental support, Indian vendors can even scale up their output to support a much larger version of this demonstrator to encompass a territory the size of Delhi. Various stakeholders believe that such a venture can be up and running within 24 months. Naturally, chipsets used in domestically supplied network equipment continue to be those designed and built in foreign countries. Although, IIT Hyderabad has been working on an indigenous chip for 5G base stations and can do more if funds are made available. At least three new 5G-related chipsets are currently under development in India, although they will be fabricated abroad given the continued absence of a commercial semiconductor foundry in India.

IIT Hyderabad has also developed a unique nonlinear massive MIMO technology, which can more than triple the network capacity.

Unfortunately, for such SEP ideas to be incorporated into 3GPP’s specifications, India will have to mount a proper national-level effort beyond what the Telecommunications Standards Development Society, India (TSDSI) has done till date.

India must realise that 5G is not an arena where a Huawei is competing with a Qualcomm or a Samsung; it is a geo-economic battleground where China is competing with the US or South Korea. Incentivising the use of homegrown systems and software by domestic telcos is a must if 5G vendors in India have to attain any sort of scale. For this, the licensing agreements for 5G spectrum must include domestic value addition clauses. Given that the Supreme Court of India has directed telcos to clear the Rs 1.4 lakh crore dues to the Modi government, one would think that New Delhi has some leverage to make them realise the importance of buying at home, even if it turns out to be somewhat more expensive. 5G is too important to be left to the telcos.

The author is a former consultant to FICCI’s International Division and Chief Editor of Delhi Defence Review. His Twitter handle is @SJha1618. Views are personal.

5G story should be about Indian tech and skills, not allowing China's Huawei in
Even Vietnam has developed its own 5G. Enough of this we cant attitude
 
5G in India Should Use Domestically Made Equipment: TRAI Chairman

TRAI Chairman R.S Sharma stated that it may be "strategically important" for India to manufacture the equipment needed in core telecom data networks.

By PTI
Updated:January 22, 2020, 2:54 PM IST
1579770652323.png

Image for representation.

Trai Chairman R S Sharma on Tuesday favoured use of domestically manufactured equipment in core telecom networks where most of the data of users is managed. Speaking at a telecom summit organised by PHD Chamber of Commerce, Sharma said 5G technology is strategic for India and telecom companies should have control over their core network by using domestically manufactured gears.

"5G is important for India from a strategic point of view. Trai has given a recommendation two years back to the government as to why it is important for us to manufacture telecom equipment locally. I think it is strategically important," Sharma said. He said that the recommendation was given to the government after consulting all stakeholders.

"If you have your core network coming out from somebody else and you don't understand what's happening inside. That's the best way people can get all your information. Therefore, it is strategically important to have control over that," Sharma said. He said that company's might lose control over some peripheral devices, handsets etc but "can't afford to lose control on the core network of yours".

The Trai chairman said the government, Niti Ayog and all stakeholders must support whatever has to be done from strategic point of view. "5G is quantum jump over 4G. Time to communicate on 5G is very less. We may not need driverless cars, remote surgery but we certainly need smart cities, smart energy, fixed wireless access and there are many used cases," Sharma said.

PHD Chamber, Telecom Committee Chairman Sandeep Aggarwal said that India should follow China's model of buying expensive technology and share it with domestic manufacturers. He said the government can leverage ITI to invest in higher technologies which can be shared with India telecom gear makers to promote high tech manufacturing in the country.

5G in India Should Use Domestically Made Equipment: TRAI Chairman
 
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Inside Reliance Jio's Make in India strategy for 5G, IoT to cut dependence on foreign gear

In a global first among mobile phone operators, Reliance Jio has developed its own 5G technology as it looks to reduce dependence on foreign vendors and bring cost-related advantages.

By Danish Khan | ET Telecom
Updated: March 10, 2020, 08:37 IST
74545355.cms

NEW DELHI: In a global first among mobile phone operators, Reliance Jio has developed its own 5G technology as it looks to reduce dependence on foreign vendors and bring cost-related advantages.

The Mukesh Ambani-owned telco has already replaced Nokia and Oracle’s 4G voice technology with its own from its pan-India network, people familiar with the matter said.

The move is perhaps a global first, analysts said, where a mobile phone company has developed in-house technology to replace third-party equipment vendors.

“We have now developed everything end-to-end around 5G technology. We are more scalable than these vendors and are fully automated since we have our own cloud-native platform. In 5G, we will totally be self-sufficient,” the person told ET.

Jio has designed its own hardware for the 5G technology, which could be made in India once 5G trials are successful along with the Internet of Things (IoT) gear. “We can give the design, layouts and board support packages to third-party manufacturers to have our gear made.”

Having developed end-to-end 5G technology, Jio would be able to bring a wide array of use cases like security and surveillance using drones, industrial IoT and digitisation in the agriculture sector. “Broadband and voice will be the baseline of our technology.”

"The move is unprecedented not only in India but also globally as most operators have relied on technology vendors for network equipment"
Ashwinder Sethi, principal at Analysys Mason said.

The telco has already informed the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and sought its approval to conduct 5G trials based on its own technology. It had recently given a separate presentation to the DoT to explain its technology and possible use cases.

“Our own technology will help us commercially as well as offer flexibility. We can customise use cases and also tailor India specific needs,” the person said.

Jio didn't respond to ET's emailed queries.

Jio has previously applied to carry out 5G trials with European vendors Ericsson and Nokia, China’s Huawei besides and Samsung, a South Korean equipment vendor that is also its sole 4G radio vendor.

Vodafone Idea and Airtel too had submitted their proposals jointly with Ericsson, Nokia, and Chinese giant Huawei, while BSNL is tying up with another Chinese vendor, ZTE.

"Jio is actively looking to build 5G and IoT technology capability in-house through a mix of organic and inorganic approach. The move is unprecedented not only in India but also globally as most operators have relied on technology vendors for network equipment," Ashwinder Sethi, principal at Analysys Mason said.

Rancore technologies, earlier a subsidiary of RIL, was merged with Jio and the acquisition of Radisys further builds upon its 5G and IoT technology capability. These acquisitions accelerated Jio’s in-house development capabilities around open source technologies and NFV adoption, paving way for the development for IoT platform and applications, analysts said.

Jio’s rivals, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone, on the other hand -- as part of their established enterprise businesses -- are already offering IoT services.

Sethi added that Jio’s approach will help it reduce its dependency on third-party vendors as well as customize its technology based on the 5G and IoT standards that will be adopted by India. "It will also be interesting to see whether this approach has cost benefits as well once the 5G technology is commercially deployed by Jio."

Jio’s own IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) solution (vIMS) for VoLTE and VoWiFi is live since October 2019. It was previously using Nokia and Oracle’s IMS and related technology to offer 4G voice service.

“This is for the first time that an Indian product has replaced European and American technologies. Eight billion calls per day and 4.5 billion SMSs per day are now handled on Jio’s own technologies - TAS, IPSMGW and SMSC,” the person added.

In a blog, Nokia's executive Barry French, however, said that Jio replaced "one specific element of Nokia-provided IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) with their own product (our TAS to their CTAS) in the core networks, but there is certainly no IMS swap underway."

The telco has also made strides in the IoT and enterprise domains by developing its in-house technology. “We have developed IoT Core node such as IoT HSS and IoT PCRF.”

A second person privy to the development said that Jio is making steady progress in the enterprise domain using services based on its own technology.

“The Business Telephony system is also in house based on its technology Business TAS (BTAS)…we have connected cloud centrex and sip trunks to hundreds of enterprise sites using it…most of our rivals are using technologies from players like Cisco for this,” he added.

Jio now has commercial customers for enterprise services like SIP trunk, Centrex, Toll-free, Virtual mobile number and IVR in India. “The recent video chat bot is also powered by our BTAS,” the second person said.

Inside Reliance Jio's Make in India strategy for 5G, IoT to cut dependence on foreign gear - ET Telecom
 
Gurgaon-based VVDN bags 5G manufacturing deal from Sterlite Tech

By Danish Khan
ET Telecom
April 14, 2020; 20:40 IST

1587033465352.png

Gurgaon-based engineering and manufacturing company VVDN has bagged a 5G manufacturing deal from Sterlite Technologies. Under the deal, VVDN will make 5G radio products including small cells and macro RU. Representative image.

NEW DELHI:
Gurgaon-based engineering and manufacturing company VVDN has bagged a 5G manufacturing deal from Sterlite Technologies. Under the deal, VVDN will make 5G radio products including small cells and macro RU.

Puneet Agarwal, Co-Founder, and President Wireless Group, VVDN Technologies said, “This partnership with STL is instrumental to VVDN and has come at the right time when VVDN is placing significant investments in 5G engineering space.”

“Our engineering & manufacturing is fully equipped to design and develop 5G Radio solutions that will help STL to accelerate 5G deployments,” he added.

Nitin Jain, Vice President of sales at VVDN told ET that STL will use these products for both local and global markets. “5G solutions like small cells and macro RU is just a start. We will expand the scope of this partnership going forward.”

VVDN recently raised Rs 250 core from Motilal Oswal Private Equity (MOPE)-led fund to expand operations and 5G capabilities. Its manufacturing facilities are located at Manesar, Gurgaon, which includes in-house SMT Factory, molding and tooling factory, product assembly factory and product certifications labs.

“The joint collaboration with VVDN aims to advance the evolution of 5G small cells thereby supporting telecom operators in their mission to rollout 5G networks. Also, with an indigenous “Make In India” approach to 5G Radio Units, STL aims to target operators globally and focus on private enterprises for broad-scale deployments of 5G,” Dr.Badri Gomatam, Group CTO, STL said in a statement.

VVDN said that it is taking a significant the approach in the 5G space with its end-to-end software and hardware expertise.

Gurgaon-based VVDN bags 5G manufacturing deal from Sterlite Tech - ET Telecom

@_Anonymous_ @randomradio @Ashwin
There seems to be a steady movement towards domestically designed, developed and manufactured 5G hardware and software. Maybe GoI wants to not import anything on 5G related technologies.
 
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@_Anonymous_ @randomradio @Ashwin
There seems to be a steady movement towards domestically designed, developed and manufactured 5G hardware and software. Maybe GoI wants to not import anything on 5G related technologies.

Which is the best move one can make in order to secure our communications.

No one is trustworthy. The US already steals information through the communication network. China is a much bigger threat to us. The Koreans and Japanese may also face alliance compulsion. Europe is also equally problematic.

India is far too big to not have an indigenous comm system. We are next after China on the American hit list.
 
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Talk of business cycles. There are companies today writing off a full quarter and there are companies reporting record profits.

Indian telco Reliance Jio reported 3X growth in its profits last week. While other telcos will likely report good numbers too, Jio is an anomaly. In more ways than one.

For its $46 billion 4G network, it chiefly relied on one vendor—Samsung. For 5G, it’s going all out for open source. What looked like a scrappy DIY project a few years ago has now emerged as a full-blown strategy for not just building a 5G network on its own terms—free from vendor lock-ins—but also for selling to the rest of the world.

This puts in context what Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani told the US President Trump in a CEO roundtable in February—“We’re the only network in the world which doesn’t have a single Chinese component.”

Locking out large network gear vendors is a new imperative as well as a movement. And one of the telecom executives leading it globally is Tariq Amen, CTO of Japan’s newest mobile operator Rakuten. Amen, the Jordanian expat who headed Jio’s networks team until 2018, had set the ball rolling. Under him, Jio acquired US software company Radisys and invested in a few other startups. It hired over 150 IIT graduates, built networking equipment, and ran prototypes in Jio’s campus.

Coincidently, the same year Jio began its equipment push, Trai, India’s telecom regulator, came up with a set of recommendations on ‘promoting local telecom manufacturing’.

Trai redefined Make in India, adding a new category—design in India, manufacture abroad. This would mean that Jio’s plans would still qualify for incentives under the Make in India scheme.

In Jio’s estimate, this focused drift of strategy would reduce its capex by half, and its network update turnaround by 75%. Two competitive groups (and power centres) are finally converging within Jio to reach one goal by December.

Pratap has a cracker of a story today, with small details woven through large implications. Read it here: https://the-ken.com/story/reliance-jios-5g-push-to-be-indias-answer-to-huawei/ (12-minute story)

@randomradio @_Anonymous_ @Sulla84 @Milspec @hellbent @Gautam
 
Relevant parts:

Reliance Jio’s 5G push to be India’s answer to Huawei

while it partnered with Samsung to build its $46 billion pan-India 4G network, its 5G project is going to be a DIY effort as its 10-year lock-in period with the Korean telecom major is set to run out in a few years.

Jio isn’t alone in its efforts to make its own 5G equipment. There has been a global movement driven by major operators like Vodafone and AT&T to set specifications and standards in line with operators’ requirements. Based on principles of openness and interoperability, the movement, called O-RAN, seeks to end the hegemony that’s long existed in the telecom equipment space

Traditionally, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), which is led by large vendors like Ericsson, Nokia, Qualcomm, Huawei, ZTE, and Samsung has set standards, with operators forced to follow.

“Vendors make a specification and then make a product out of that specification. Operators’ requirements are not fully taken into account. Vendors develop specific protocols for hardware to talk to software, and that costs a bomb,” said a senior executive working closely with a leading Indian operator.

5G networks are especially given to this. Software and hardware are now two separate commodities, and both can be sourced separately. Crucially, while the intellectual property resides in software, hardware has been commoditised and could be bought off the shelf. As a result, even German businesses like automaker BMW and air carrier Deutsche Lufthansa are building private 5G networks, well ahead of Germany’s telcos.

Jio is also hitching its cart to these open standards. The use of open interface networks, that too, developed in house, could bring down Jio’s capital expenditure by nearly half, said multiple executives working closely with Reliance Jio. This is vital in a country like India, where 5G use cases will not emerge from day one and the average revenue per user remains low. These savings could also allow Jio to buy a larger chunk of spectrum.

Shortly after, in mid-2018, Jio acquired US-based telecom software company Radisys. This boosted Jio’s capacity to build software components, which constitutes a significant part of the 5G network. With Radisys in its arsenal, Jio could now stitch together disaggregated and open interface equipment. Some of this could be developed entirely in-house, with the rest sourced from vendors.

“We hired 150 graduates from the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT). We built networking equipment and ran prototypes in Jio’s campus,” said one of the top Jio executives at the time, who is no longer with the company.