“We must build something (5G equipment) in India. I think that the first success day is going to happen in BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam) by deploying 4G developed by the Tatas. Jio is also working on indigenous technology,” AJ Paulraj, a Stanford University professor emeritus, told ET. Due to the pushback on China, the US may help India, which can use the opportunity to develop locally produced equipment faster, he said.
Paulraj is an inventor of the multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology that plays a central role in Wi-Fi, 4G and 5G wireless networks today. He had headed a high-level forum constituted in 2017 to work on India’s 5G roadmap and study the spectrum needs.
He said it was high time for India to build telecom technology locally, and noted that the US was already struggling to make (5G) technology within their country.
“We must start in 5G. We should build some boxes ourselves. In those boxes, 95% component base is still to be imported, but 5% should be coming from Indian companies. We can start adding value in technology in our country,” Paulraj said.
State-run BSNL is set to deploy homegrown 4G gear to be supplied by Tata Consultancy Services, which bought a majority stake in Bengaluru-based radio equipment manufacturer Tejas Networks.
In addition, the Center for Development of Telematics (C-DoT), a state-owned telecom technology firm, has developed an interoperable 4G core equipment for BSNL’s 4G network deployment. Recently, C-DoT has also claimed to have built a 5G core for the non-standalone (NSA) mode. Jio has said that it had developed its own 5G core indigenously that complies with global third-generation partnership project (3GPP) standards, a multinational technology forum. With domestically designed and developed next-generation technology, the telco is eyeing making 5G services affordable and accessible.
“In 2-3 years, we should start putting in some Indian-made equipment which right now we are importing,” Paulraj said. Currently, the telecom equipment market is dominated by the likes of Finnish Nokia, Swedish Ericsson and South Korean Samsung, in addition to China’s Huawei which is now facing a global backlash in the wake of network security apprehensions.
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