Vi Targets to Bring 5G in 17 Circles in Next 5 Months

Global telecom firm Vodafone and Aditya Birla Group backed Vi (Vodafone Idea Ltd) is getting ready for 5G launch, as they had recently partnered with Ericsson, Nokia and Samsung for 4G expansion, upgradation and 5G deployment. 

While Airtel and Jio rolled out 5G in October 2022, Vi with its financial struggles is yet to enter 5G space. Though Vi had several trials of 5G with multiple vendors. In February 2023, the Indian government converted debt-ridden Vi’s dues into equity, which made GoI to own 33.5% stake of Vi, as the single largest shareholder** . After that some rumors came that BSNL may merge with Vi or BSNL may use Vi's 4G network - however those did not happen, thankfully. 

EchoStar backed ORCID to Keep Open RAN Alive

In recent times, Open RAN has faced some backlash, but that does not mean the tech is dead nor the enthuathism around the technology. EchoStar Corporation, the company behind Boost Mobile, DISH TV, Hughes believes in Open RAN. The company has identified the flexibility of Open RAN is priceless. Then they brought their own playground for Open RAN players - ORCID. 

HQ at Englewood, Colo. (US), EchoStar Corporation, a global telecom and satellite service provider, has announced the launch of the Open RAN Center for Integration and Deployment (ORCID), a state-of-the-art Open RAN (O-RAN) testing and evaluation lab housed at EchoStar's Cheyenne, Wyoming, data center.

Tareq Amin Lands on Aramco Digital to Continue His Dream for OpenRAN

Back in 2020, O-RAN was just more than a concept, I covered its advantages and how Indian operators could be beneficial by embracing it. The post also covers the importance of 5Gi or Desi 5G for the operators as they were ditching Chinese vendors. This move to ditch Chinese vendors was also appreciated by American politicians. 

However more than 1 year after 5G launch in the country, none of the operators deployed OpenRAN ecosystem. Though all three - Jio, Airtel and Vi had explored O-RAN based networks before the 5G launch. 

Mavenir Backing Open RAN Aggresively & Curious Case of India's 5G

Way back in September 2020, I wrote up on Open RAN networks and how it is reshaping future of telecommunications globally. After 1.5 years that O-RAN is very much alive and getting more traction from the industry. ORAN is now widely accepted globally. For those are uninitiated, Open RAN (Radio Access Network) offers the flexibility to the service providers to use hardware and software solutions from different companies in multiple layers. It's something like to use open source software. 

Indian Telecom - End of 2021 Update

T​​hough Indian telecom sector is having a lackluster show for last few years, but some zeal hopefully returning to the tel-tech sector in next 12-18 months. More excitement comes with government's new plans with telecom including 100% FDI in telecom and relief packages for telecom service providers. 

Broadband Scene to be Changed: Wired vs Wireless (4G/5G) vs Satellite Internet, Airtel's OneWeb vs Jio 5G, OneWeb vs Starlink

Though India's broadband scenario is not comparable with global counterpart, the scene can see lots of improvement. Wired vs Wireless debate is going to over soon, as satnet is coming to India at affordable (not cheap) price.

Open RAN Getting Traction for 5G Roll out & 5G Scenario in India

Jio is planning for a 5G juggarnaut, as the digicom arm of Reliance Industries wants to make 5G rollout of its own, not depending on existing tele-equipment majors like Nokia, Cisco, Samsung, Ericsson. Jio has agreement with Samsung for 4G roll out, and the deal will continue but Jio will embrace indigenous 5G tech.  

Jio took a stand not to work with Chinese vendors like ZTE, Huawei. Jio already has been praised by American politicians for no-China mode, and Jio received huge funding from America including tech major Google, Intel, Qualcomm and social giant Facebook. American PE firm Silver Lake has invested heavily into Jio and Reliance Retail. And many experts believe American PE firms will invest heavily into Reliance Retail, just like they did into Jio - already KKR seems interested in Reliance Retail as per media reports.

Just for an off-topic, Reliance Retail will take on Amazon India and Walmart backed Flipkart in the e-commerce field. And Reliance Retail would be targeting brick-and-mortar retail at the strongest way, as they acquired Future Group (Big Bazaar brand) for Rs 24,713 crore.