Bharti Airtel ties up with global firms, kicks off ORAN tech plan

Bharti Airtel has tied up with global technology companies to develop products to power 4G and 5G networks based on Open Radio Access Network (ORAN) technology.

These companies include Rakuten, a Japanese e-commerce giant and 4G operator which is the first to launch commercial 5G services in Japan based on the new technology.  

The others are Japanese hardware giant NEC, Taiwanese major Sercomm, cloud player Red Hat in the US, and start-ups like Texas-based Mavenir. Confirming the development, a top Bharti executive said: “We are passionate about ORAN and our strategy is to collaborate with the best in the world and help them in orchestrating products for 4G and 5G. We have set up our own R&D centre. Someone has to put together these disaggregated solutions so that they can be used together in the network. Our R&D  team will perform that function.”

In simple terms, ORAN is based on open platforms rather than the traditional proprietary technology offered by incumbent gear makers.  

Instead of depending on both software and hardware from one vendor, telcos can now buy them from various players, reducing costs substantially. However, telcos require integrators to combine the various products to make a network run. That is what Bharti will do.

However, the executive made it clear that the company will also continue to work with incumbent gear makers such as Nokia and Ericsson who in turn will be competing with the new technology players in the game. For instance, Nokia has already joined the ORAN alliance. “Our aim is simple. We want to get the best quality and the lowest cost. We are not looking at becoming a R&D provider for the whole world,” added the Bharti executive. The move is significant, as Bharti’s strategy is clearly different from its key rival Reliance Jio which recently announced that it has developed an indigenous 5G network which it would like to export and sell to the world. 

Bharti’s aim, instead, is to collaborate with its partners for its own networks which, apart from India, extend across Africa, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. It has already tasted success in this collaborative approach. Bharti has developed small cells in collaboration with start-up Altiostar which can be used indoors and in enterprises as well as outdoors. It has already deployed them across the country with a view to enhancing the capacity of the network.

The advantage of the new technology is immense. It is expected to reduce 5G deployment costs by around 40 per cent, offer huge flexibility in the functioning of the network (making it easier to move capacity from one area to another) and reduce operators’ dependence on incumbent gear makers.

Globally, over 40 operators have shown interest in opting for the ORAN technology but they are all waiting to see the results of Rakuten’s launch of the first commercial 5G network based on ORAN in Tokyo and Nagoya. The new technology has also attracted the attention of many Indian tech firms. Tech Mahindra is one. Analysts say it has positioned itself to become an integrator. 

Wipro and HCL Technologies are also in talks to enter the field. Companies like Sterlite Technologies which have tied the knot with Rakuten are helping in the development of the hardware.