India-made 4G, 5G technology stacks may go global during G20 meet

Plan remains a proposal at the moment, dependant on key developments in telecom space in 2023

India’s plans to successfully offer its indigenously developed 4G and 5G technology (tech) stacks to the world would be discussed at the upcoming Group of 20 (G20) meetings, said officials on Thursday.

The government is keen on offering the entire range of sophisticated Made-in-India 4G and 5G equipment and associated technologies to other nations and showcasing the plan as part of its G20 discussions on the digital economy.

However, they clarified that the plan remains a proposal right now and is dependent on key developments that are yet to firm up.

Built by a consortium, led by the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) under the Department of Telecommunications, along with Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) and Tata Consultancy Services, the stacks have already piqued global interest. 

Officials said 13 foreign telecommunication (telecom) companies have raised an enquiry about them. 

Big plans 

"The leap in tech being made by India should be demonstrated at G20, a platform dedicated to transformative technologies. The economic and social impact that such a tech can make in poorer countries that cannot afford European or American products is immense,” said a person in the know.

Earlier this week, Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the stacks have been successfully tested to handle 10 million simultaneous calls.

New Delhi also wants to capitalise on the stacks to firmly place India on the global telecom map, and attract higher investment as value chains move to India.

Only five countries - US, Sweden, Finland, South Korea, and China - have similar end-to-end 4G and 5G stacks

Companies in these countries also dictate the standards, prices, and market conditions for 4G and 5G equipment.

Case in point: Swedish giant Ericsson is setting up 5G infrastructure for both Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel.

Apart from being one of the next crucial foreign policy bets by India, this technological outreach is also expected to rake in financial benefits for Indian public sector companies, such as C-DOT.

Conditions apply

The plans to globalise India’s tech offerings will, however, depend on mainline events.

The first real-world deployment of the entire 4G stack was expected to happen in late 2022 and then in January this year, as part of state-owned telecom operator BSNL’s plans to roll out 4G services.

However, the timeline for that plan is now amorphous, and the roll-out has been pushed back, informed a senior official.

Meanwhile, major chunks of the 5G stack are yet to be officially launched, remaining in advanced levels of development.

C-DOT is currently in the process of developing a fully indigenous non-standalone (NSA) 5G core.

It is also creating India’s first-ever indigenously built standalone (SA) 5G core, considered to be a technological improvement on the NSA core, targeting a deadline of October this year.

The SA core will be necessary for achieving optimal capability in many of the classic use cases of 5G that have been showcased by both the government and industry. 

A long list of high-tech applications, ranging from robotics, advanced manufacturing and remote surgery, to advanced retail and logistics operations, requires ultra-low latency, which only an SA core can provide.

The antennae would also be ready in the next six months, along with the 5G radio access network (RAN).

RAN allows the disaggregation of network equipment components, enabling a telecom company to source hardware and software from different vendors for network building.

The next set of domestically developed 5G equipment expected to come into play would be the radio by March this year.

“Both prototype development and proof of concept have been done. But some work is left to make it into a telecom-grade product and then prepare for a network launch,” added an official.

Going global

Stacks built by consortium led by C-DOT, along with BSNL and TCS
 

13 foreign telcos interested in Indian stack
 

Govt looks to capitalise on the stacks to firmly place India in the global telecom arena
 

Currently, only five countries have similar end-to-end 4G-5G stacks