India has become one of the fastest-growing tech hubs in the world. Nearly 340 million people have internet connections in India, making it the second most connected nation. Network providers like Airtel, Jio, and others are trying to implement and bring the 5G network to reality. Recently Airtel collaborated with TCS to build 5G networks in India. Day by day we are getting closer to witnessing the 5G network become a reality.
Both Airtel and TCS are working together on this mission to bring 5G networks to reality. It will be available for commercial development starting from 2021.
Tata Group has made some impressive progress towards these 5G solutions. It has developed a “state-of-the-art” O-RAN-based Radio & NSA/SA Core and has integrated a domestic telecom stack. This shows Tata Group is making the best use of the both Group and its partner’s capabilities.
Here we can observe that Tata Group has used NSA/SA radio technology to control the signaling of 5G radio effectively. In NSA/SA, the NSSA helps in controlling the signaling of 5G to the 4G Core. Whereas the SA helps in connecting the 5G radio directly to the 5G core network and control signaling is independent on the 4G network.
Besides this, TCS brings its global system integration expertise and helps align the end-to-end solution to both 3GPP and O-RAN standards. Airtel is planning to pilot and deploy this 5G rollout as a part of Made in India initiative. The pilot and deployment of 5G technology solutions will begin in Jan 2022, as per the guidelines planned by the government.
If things go as planned, Tata Group will benefit from this partnership to export the technology solution to other countries such as Africa and Sri Lanka. To make things go as planned, Tata Group is working with Indian tech companies and start-ups for hardware solutions. If 5G technology becomes reality and once commercially proven in Airtel’s diversity. Then it will open many export opportunities for India, which is now the second-largest telecom market in the world.
As of now, there is a tough competition between Airtel and Reliance Jio. Previously Jio with its incredible mobile plans revolutionized India’s telecom Industry. Since then, to cope with the public demands, all other network providers have also adopted the same strategies for mobile data plans.
Even though Reliance had made its mark among the giants in India’s telecom industry. Airtel made a partnership with TCS for building the 5G network in India, which is creating a lot of buzz on the Internet. If Airtel and TCS succeed, it will surely provide great competition for its rivals.
Based on analysts tracking the sector, Airtel building a 5G network in collaboration with TCS is a big move to counter Reliance Jio. Which is also on its way to make 5G networks a reality. Already, Jio has partnered with Qualcomm to develop indigenous 5G solutions.
Compared to every other competitor Airtel seems to be one that will be very close to making 5G technology a reality. One of the reasons for Airtel’s impressive progress in this field is, Airtel is one of the broad members of the O-RAN Alliance. It is committed to explore and implement O-RAN networks in India. As a sign of progress, earlier this year, Airtel became the first telecom company in India to demonstrate 5G through its LIVE network in the city of Hyderabad.
Airtel has already started 5G trials in major cities using spectrum allocated by the Department of Telecom in India. Once 5G technology becomes mainstream, there are limitless possibilities with the network. It will become the next big revolution in the telecom industry. But only the future has the answers, let’s see.
