Airtel, Tata Group join forces for 5G network solutions in India

Bharti Airtel and Tata Group have entered into a partnership for implementing 5G networks solutions for India.

Tata Group has developed an O-RAN based Radio & NSA/SA Core and has integrated a fully indigenous telecom stack by utilizing its capabilities and that of its partners.

The O-RAN based Radio & NSA/SA Core will be available for commercial development beginning from next year.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a Tata Group company, is said to bring its global expertise in system integration and will help align the end-to-end solution to 3GPP as well as O-RAN standards, as the network and equipment are embedded increasingly into software.

N. Ganapathy Subramaniam from the Tata Group/ TCS said: “As a Group, we are excited about the opportunity presented by 5G and adjacent possibilities. We are committed to building a world-class networking equipment and solutions business to address these opportunities in networking space.

“We are pleased to have Airtel as our customer in this initiative.”

Airtel, Tata Group join forces for 5G network solutions in India. Photo courtesy of F. Muhammad from Pixabay.

Airtel will trial and deploy the indigenous solution as part of its rollout plans for 5G in India. The telecommunications company will launch the pilot in January 2022 in accordance with the guidelines formulated by the Indian government.

According to Airtel, the ‘Made in India’ 5G product and solutions are designed as per global standards, and they inter-operate with other products based on standard open interfaces and also those defined by the O-RAN Alliance.

Airtel said that the 5G solutions once commercially proven in its diverse and brownfield network will open opportunities for export for India, which is currently the second largest telecom market in the globe.

Gopal Vittal – MD and CEO (India and South Asia) Bharti Airtel said: “We are delighted to join forces with the Tata Group to make India a global hub for 5G and allied technologies. With its world-class technology ecosystem and talent pool, India is well positioned to build cutting edge solutions and applications for the world.

“This will also provide a massive boost to India becoming an innovation and manufacturing destination.”