Telecom firm Bharti Airtel announced a strategic partnership with the steel-to-software conglomerate Tata group for 5G network solutions. Based on open radio access network (ORAN) technology, the plan is to roll out the solution initially for India and subsequently for exports. The move is being seen as far more ambitious as Airtel’s original plan of collaborating with hardware and software players to build a 5G network at the lowest price. Bharti Airtel has roped in Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) for its system integration capability. The ORAN technology requires expertise in integration of disparate elements of hardware and software based on an open source technology. The earlier technology, provided by incumbent telecom gear makers like Ericsson and Nokia, was based on proprietary technology with hardware and software fused into one offering.
Telecom operators can buy their hardware as well as software from multiple players, thus increasing competition and reducing overall costs of the network. But to enable this, telcos need a system integrator for powering the network. The Tata group, quite like Reliance Jio, has also built state of the art ORAN-based radio as well as standalone and non-standalone core, which control the network. The ORAN network is increasingly dependent on software, giving it more flexibility as well as efficiency. Reliance, which also bought Radisys in the US, has used it as a base for software solutions required for 5G. The initiative to develop its own 5G technology based on ORAN is not new. Earlier, it had discussions with Tech Mahindra to engage it as a system integrator and software partner. It has also tied up with global partners including Japanese hardware giant NEC, Taiwanese major Sercomm, cloud player Red Hat and start-ups like the US-based Mavenir, apart from Rakuten of Japan. It also tied up with US-based firm Altiostar to build small cells for deployment in 4G and later for 5G.