NEC Corporation India: Revolutionizing India’s Connectivity through cutting-edge innovations

A silent crusader working behind the scene, for seven decades, this Fortune 500 Japanese tech giant is building last-mile connectivity with its telecommunications solutions

A fascinating analogy

“Nanakorobi yaoki” is a Japanese proverb that means even if you fall seven times, you get up eight times. This aptly applies to businesses that weather many storms with persistence and never give up.

“We’ve persevered to stay at the forefront of breakthrough technologies over the last several decades,” says Aalok Kumar, President, and CEO, of NEC Corporation India. For the last 122 years, Global tech leader, NEC has stayed ahead of the technology curve in Information, Communication, and Digital Technology with projected revenues of $30 billion.

NEC is among the world’s pioneers in sectors such as biometrics, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Data analytics, face & iris recognition. Gartner Magic Quadrant ranked NEC as a Visionary in 5G Network Infrastructure. IDC Marketscape Worldwide Artificial Intelligence Services ranked it as a Major Player.

NEC’s motto of “Better Products, Better Services,” has been at the core of the digitisation roadmap in India over the last 70 years. And this is spread over many sectors, including telecommunications, transportation, logistics, public safety, smart cities, aviation, manufacturing, AI, etc.

In the last 70 years NEC’s technology has been an integral part of the digitization roadmap of multiple sectors in India – including telecommunications, transportation, logistics, public safety, smart cities, aviation, AI, manufacturing.

NEC India

Since the 1950’s NEC India has overcome challenges – geographical, execution, and environmental – to make technology mainstream. But retaining the highest standards of quality. NEC realized early on that telecommunications and connectivity lie at the heart of a digital revolution. Over the decades NEC has become the backbone of India’s telecom service providers, powering the internet in our lives. NEC believes 5G, Open RAN, or ORAN technology and optic fiber cable networks can accelerate the digital revolution.

Currently, a 5G  ORAN leader NEC is working closely with telecom service providers, and government bodies to create high capacity backhaul capabilities for 5G. NEC microwave backhaul and its PASOLINK series is the leader in this category. It is now building the internet of the future and exploring the possibility of commercially deploying ORAN technology for 5G networks by replicating global success stories.

“NEC’s ‘India Go Big’ initiative aptly defines the unique scale of growth that India offers. “Through this, we intend to more than double our talent pool, from 6000 to 14000, and thereby attract the finest brains. We are building solutions for the most complex social challenges that shape India,” says Kumar

As part of this initiative, NEC led the world’s first 5G commercial implementation for Rakuten in Japan from India. It deployed BSS/OSS, 5G R.U., and 5G core solutions for its fully virtualized cloud-native network. In addition, NEC is partnering with Rakuten to promote ORAN worldwide and developing containerized standalone 5G core network to be utilized in Rakuten Mobile’s fully virtualized cloud-native 5G network.

Recently, NEC added 18 more runs to its portfolio to serve customers across varied bands and configurations. With the launch of 5G haul, Transformation Services NEC plans to support CSPs to revolutionize transport networks for 5G.

Alongside Rakuten, NEC has added many new customers to its open network footprint. For instance, NEC will be the key supplier to Deutsche Telekom’s O-RAN Town project and will participate in Telefónica’s trials in its key markets of Spain, the UK, Germany, and Brazil. NEC’s collaboration with long-standing Open RAN operators such as NTT DOCOMO, Vodafone, and Altiostar has also deepened.

Additionally, NEC is exploring possibilities with micro 5G platforms where closed-loop private networks can unlock better IoT applications on improved data corridors driving unprecedented innovation in smart cities, manufacturing, transportation, and logistics.

Digital Transformation (DX)

Aalok Kumar, President, and CEO NEC India – took charge amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. Fast-tracking the adoption of digital technology, helping partners, customers and authorities manage challenges thrown up by the pandemic, is among his key goals.

“Not only did the pandemic force us to transform ourselves but it demanded a change in mindset amongst our clients and guide them through their Digital Transformation (DX) journey. Reeling under the pandemic the DX adopters multiplied. They wanted to digitise their businesses fast but did not have a strategy. We recalibrated our teams. Democratised innovation and kept the customer at the center of our efforts,” explain Aalok Kumar.

Building on this further in areas like AI, big data, biometrics, logistics, contactless solutions, NEC aligned teams to help both government and businesses successfully navigate the repercussions of the pandemic. The IT and network technology leader is building a robust digital infrastructure to achieve significant improvements in productivity, efficiency, and competitiveness.

Digital Economy

Backed by a growth strategy centered on three pillars, namely, leveraging NEC’s strong delivery capabilities, bringing about digital transformation in governance, and driving growth through innovation, NEC is committed to making digital technology mainstream in the country. Reinforcing this message, Kumar says, “We have a dedicated R&D center and a Global Development Center (GDC) in India that is focused on creating innovative solutions to solve some of the most complex social challenges globally as well as in India. Many turnkey global projects of NEC Japan are powered by NEC India’s GDC team, and it intends to leverage India’s skill and ability to fuel its global expansion plans. NEC has more than 49,000 patents to its credit, and it is exploring localization and deployment of many in India.”

NEC led the world’s first 5G commercial implementation for Rakuten in Japan from India, where it deployed BSS/OSS, 5G R.U. and 5G core solutions for its fully virtualized cloud-native network.

NEC India deploys its technology in three ways:

• Digital foundation or building the digital backbone in the country such as Submarine and mobile network connectivity
• Improving Processes & last-mile connectivity in sectors including Logistics, Transportation, Aviation, and Smart cities through solutions like Track & Trace, Vehicle planning and scheduling, BRT systems, city surveillance, and touchless boarding, etc.
• Helping Decision Making through Integrated Command and Control Center, Video Analytics, Automated immigration, etc. powered by AI.

NEC has charted three major priorities for India:

• Creating Global Centers of Excellence (COEs) in India across multiple domains.
• Strengthening the R&D lab in Bangalore – one of 8 in the world – with more investments in newer areas.
• Creating more products and solutions in India leveraging Japan’s technical know-how to deliver “Made in Japan” quality solutions out of India.

Strengthening India’s e-Governance

In August 2020 amidst the challenges of the first wave of Covid-19, NEC India completed a significant infrastructure project on time – the Chennai-Andaman (CANI) 2,314 km long (100Gb/s) undersea optical fiber cable project. It was inaugurated by the Honorable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on August 2020. It enables the implementation of e-Governance initiatives, e-commerce, virtual education and boosts tourism in the island, generating employment for the inhabitants. It is a significant milestone in NEC’s journey of partnering with the Government of India to realize its vision of a truly connected India.

The successful project win of the prestigious Kochi-Lakshadweep Submarine project is another notable business milestone that exemplifies NEC’s focused investment in guiding India to a digital future.

Making 5G a Reality in India

NEC’s first open RAN laboratory was inaugurated in December 2020 in Chennai as a part of the company’s initiative: “In India, For India and From India For Global’’.  The new facility complements operations of NEC’s CoE in the U.K. and is testing innovative O-RAN technology to be offered to the world. As India gears up for 5G, this lab facility can support the establishment and execution of customer-specific 5G system integration cases. Additionally, NEC has more than 25 years of experience in mobile packet core with proven performance in tier-1 carriers’ commercial networks.

“India has close to 800 million internet users – one of the largest on the planet. So I believe, digitalization should be the new religion for businesses and companies must definitely widen their footprint in embracing digital technologies. At NEC India, we are geared up to help governments and businesses through improved connectivity with the roll-out of 5G so that India could adopt digital in the truest sense,” says Kumar.

The networking giant announced the set up of iPASOLINK EX Advanced Dual, NEC’s outdoor, integrated, ultra-compact microwave radio supporting 70-80 GHz band communication (E-band), in India. It strategically works with India’s top telecom operators to make 5G a reality.

Calibrating the Future of Technology

One of NEC’s key value propositions has been to add to the sense of reliability that Japanese brands evoke with their unfailing technological solutions and quality assurance, whether in hardware or software. The NEC vision powers the ability to create an ambiance for creating more productive solutions in India by leveraging Japanese technical know-how.

“We have taken an aggressive stance to drive cultural change in the organization and inculcate a participative mindset. Our teams have showcased a visible shift from just crowdsourcing to crowd evaluating innovative ideas and this has raised the innovation quotient of our India team at par with global standards. We are non-judgemental when our teams lose and quick to reward their small wins,” says Aalok Kumar.

As part of its efforts to build sustainable technology ecosystems, NEC plans to reduce environmental impact in its business activities and target reducing CO2 emissions to effectively zero by 2050. NEC’s efforts have been recognized for leadership in corporate sustainability by the global non-profit CDP listing it on its prestigious “A-List” three years in a row.

NEC has one of the highest employee engagement rates in the industry, leading to happier and more committed employees. Employees focus on meaningful work. There is an absence of entitlement and an open workplace without silos. NEC India is charting a paradigm shift. Adding newer dimensions to workplace culture transformation.

NEC has always sought to resolve real-life problems through cutting-edge technology. NEC India is geared up to revolutionize India’s telecommunications industry.

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