Eyeing BSNL: Tech Mahindra says can build and run full-fledged 4G, 5G networks
NEW DELHI: IT services provider Tech Mahindra has the capability to build and run an entire 4G or 5G network in India, and its partnership with Japanese telco Rakuten will help it get more meaningful business in India’s telecom industry, a senior executive said.
The company is also looking for strategic investments and acquisition in companies to further bolster its telecom product and services portfolio.
“We can built and run an entire 4G and 5G or any enterprise network. We have done that already. We bring to the table our ability to design, to plan, to integrate and deploy and then to manage the entire suite of network capabilities, including designing various parts to it in a disaggregated world,” Manish Vyas - President, Communications, Media & Entertainment Business, and the CEO, Network Services, Tech Mahindra, told ET.
Vyas said that the company has built its reference architecture for the telecom network, and has technologies and a set of companies that are integral to the whole suite.
On Rakuten’s partnership, he said that the Indian company is working very closely with the Japanese telco for the latter’s Rakuten Cloud Platform (RCP).
“We are a go-to market partner with them. Our investments and initiatives have been directed to what Rakuten eventually achieves. It is not mere coincidence that we are part of Rakuten's story because our philosophy is exactly the same,” he added.
Asked if Tech Mahindra could play a role in Jio’s 5G technology stack, Vyas said, “We offer both IP as well as software engineering as a capability to everyone including to Jio and we talk to them.”
Analysts said that Jio is building its own 5G software stack and is likely to embrace Open RAN techniques or possibly even Cloud-RAN as an architecture.
Tech Mahindra is working with all three private telecom operators in India, and will bid for state-run telco Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited's (BSNL) 4G tender.
“The government, BSNL and the DoT have started it [the network strategy] which is extremely encouraging and we are quite enthused and are indeed developing those ideas,” he said.
Tech Mahindra recently entered into an agreement with ITI Limited to make 4G equipment in India. The company is reportedly planning to partner with local firms to form a consortium for BSNL’s 4G project.
“BSNL is such a core fabric of the initial telecom revolution. It does deserve an opportunity to retain and continue to grow, With 5G on anvil, it is a brilliant opportunity to try and create an offering which is world class. the only way it could happen is via world-class technology and mindset,” Vyas said.
Tech Mahindra is partnering with a number of “innovative companies” to build a complete India stack for 4G and 5G telecom networks. Vyas, however, didn’t specify names of those companies.
“We support building the India stack in terms of building both the business side of systems and operations and the network side of business and operations. We are looking to constantly contribute towards building a stack. We have invested in technologies like AI and are contributing to the ORAN initiative,” Vyas said.
OpenRAN enables hardware and software to be dis-aggregated, unlike conventional radio gears, allowing technology products from different suppliers to co-exist with the various software providers. This move would also help telcos cut network-related costs and bring more customisation as they prepare for 5G, said experts.
Tech Mahindra previously invested in Altiostar, a US company that develops software that allows virtualisation solutions on 4G and 5G networks enabling telecoms to build end-to-end web-scale cloud native networks. Bharti Airtel has deployed the Altiostar solution in India.
The company is looking for strategic investments and acquisition in companies to further bolster its telecom product and services portfolio.
"We will also look at strategic Investments as we have done in the past where it may not give us the ownership of companies, but it gives us the ownership of an access to that technology and the platforms. We explore all the options. The good news is our strategy is very clear. We know the area we want to play. We know the problems you want to solve. We will constantly look for the right tool set to become a better solution provider," he said
Vyas said that the current geopolitical issues and technology trends have resulted in various options for telecom operators in India in terms of network technology. OpenRAN, he said, is one mindset that will be dominating in future as opposed to technology and network gear from traditional vendors.
“The geopolitical and geo-economic scenarios are creating an external catalyst for people to look at alternatives more seriously because the options available earlier were cheaper and now that option may not be available, people are trying to see if there is something which can give the economical value and technological and business edge,” he explained.
The company is also looking for strategic investments and acquisition in companies to further bolster its telecom product and services portfolio.
“We can built and run an entire 4G and 5G or any enterprise network. We have done that already. We bring to the table our ability to design, to plan, to integrate and deploy and then to manage the entire suite of network capabilities, including designing various parts to it in a disaggregated world,” Manish Vyas - President, Communications, Media & Entertainment Business, and the CEO, Network Services, Tech Mahindra, told ET.
Vyas said that the company has built its reference architecture for the telecom network, and has technologies and a set of companies that are integral to the whole suite.
On Rakuten’s partnership, he said that the Indian company is working very closely with the Japanese telco for the latter’s Rakuten Cloud Platform (RCP).
“We are a go-to market partner with them. Our investments and initiatives have been directed to what Rakuten eventually achieves. It is not mere coincidence that we are part of Rakuten's story because our philosophy is exactly the same,” he added.
Asked if Tech Mahindra could play a role in Jio’s 5G technology stack, Vyas said, “We offer both IP as well as software engineering as a capability to everyone including to Jio and we talk to them.”
Analysts said that Jio is building its own 5G software stack and is likely to embrace Open RAN techniques or possibly even Cloud-RAN as an architecture.
Tech Mahindra is working with all three private telecom operators in India, and will bid for state-run telco Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited's (BSNL) 4G tender.
“The government, BSNL and the DoT have started it [the network strategy] which is extremely encouraging and we are quite enthused and are indeed developing those ideas,” he said.
Tech Mahindra recently entered into an agreement with ITI Limited to make 4G equipment in India. The company is reportedly planning to partner with local firms to form a consortium for BSNL’s 4G project.
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“BSNL is such a core fabric of the initial telecom revolution. It does deserve an opportunity to retain and continue to grow, With 5G on anvil, it is a brilliant opportunity to try and create an offering which is world class. the only way it could happen is via world-class technology and mindset,” Vyas said.
Tech Mahindra is partnering with a number of “innovative companies” to build a complete India stack for 4G and 5G telecom networks. Vyas, however, didn’t specify names of those companies.
“We support building the India stack in terms of building both the business side of systems and operations and the network side of business and operations. We are looking to constantly contribute towards building a stack. We have invested in technologies like AI and are contributing to the ORAN initiative,” Vyas said.
OpenRAN enables hardware and software to be dis-aggregated, unlike conventional radio gears, allowing technology products from different suppliers to co-exist with the various software providers. This move would also help telcos cut network-related costs and bring more customisation as they prepare for 5G, said experts.
Tech Mahindra previously invested in Altiostar, a US company that develops software that allows virtualisation solutions on 4G and 5G networks enabling telecoms to build end-to-end web-scale cloud native networks. Bharti Airtel has deployed the Altiostar solution in India.
The company is looking for strategic investments and acquisition in companies to further bolster its telecom product and services portfolio.
"We will also look at strategic Investments as we have done in the past where it may not give us the ownership of companies, but it gives us the ownership of an access to that technology and the platforms. We explore all the options. The good news is our strategy is very clear. We know the area we want to play. We know the problems you want to solve. We will constantly look for the right tool set to become a better solution provider," he said
Vyas said that the current geopolitical issues and technology trends have resulted in various options for telecom operators in India in terms of network technology. OpenRAN, he said, is one mindset that will be dominating in future as opposed to technology and network gear from traditional vendors.
“The geopolitical and geo-economic scenarios are creating an external catalyst for people to look at alternatives more seriously because the options available earlier were cheaper and now that option may not be available, people are trying to see if there is something which can give the economical value and technological and business edge,” he explained.
