5G- Indigenous Networks and Ecosystems

Indigenous 5G networks and ecosystems, were the topic of a panel discussion at the recently held TLF 5G Conference of Voice&Data. PK Roy, the former editor, Dataquest and Voice&Data, was the moderator.

What does atmanirbharta mean for 5G? Y.G.S.C. Kishore Babu, DDG (S.R.I), DoT, noted that companies have been contributing to building the necessary competencies. Most of them are from global companies. Competencies built into the system are coming from everywhere. We can develop systems, and have technology ownership. We can also develop locally-relevant use cases.

Trusted source is something we are looking at among the available ecosystem. We also need to reduce the dependency on electronic components. In telecom, it is probably not possible for everyone to make 100% in India. We need to have the design ownership. That can help us in the value chain. We are already having competencies in design. India can be a value-added partner.

Dr. Rajkumar Upadhyay, ED & Chairman, C-DoT, added atmanirbharta is for all the sectors. Telecom has two aspects – security and economic perspective. Security, lot of software is being developed. Many countries have banned certain vendors owing to security. From the economic side, we need to look at where is it the cheapest available. Most talent is driven by India. We were given the task in 2020 to develop 4G. We have developed indigenous 4G and 5G NSA, along with Tejas. BSNL will launch 5G with 5G NSA. The time for India is now. Our 4G does not depend on any hardware.

The government of India has taken multiple initiatives. Now, we are manufacturing mobile phones in India. We need to bridge the gap between imports and exports. We need to bring atmanirbharta. We need to develop our own R&D. ISM has come in, and now, there are semiconductor fabs and semiconductor packaging. There is a major opportunity for India. We will close the gap. The government has come out with the PLIs, starting with telecom manufacturing. Chip manufacturing is one part. India has lot of design talent. Once you are declared a trusted source, anybody can buy from you. Rajesh Tuli, MD, Coral Telecom, said this is the right time for India to do it! The ecosystem is very conducive. Ecosystems, such as MSMEs, are being supported. Grants are being given to the private sector. Earlier, it was meant for the public sector. We also need to have a market for the product that we develop. Regarding products, we have now designed domestic chipsets. The IPR belongs to us. My atmanirbharta depends on my privacy. Customers want an end-to-end solution. We need to develop the ecosystem further and create consortiums. The private networks will be one tool to promote local designs. We request that the spectrum for setting up private networks should be for domestically-designed components. We will have to take baby steps. There are concerns about silicon. We need to focus on the software being built around the chip.