After a huge success in Jio 4G, as we all know Jio’s 4G network coverage is like old 2G. Reliance is now working on Jio 5G. Reliance is developing its own 5G technology which will help them to reduce using foreign equipment. This is the first time any telco is expanding itself and developing its own technology to replace foreign equipment.
Reliance Jio owned by Mukesh Ambani is now a big brand name. Jio is not just a telecommunication network, it also provides many other services as well like Jio Mart, Jio pay, Jio TV, Jio Music, etc. In the recent AGM meeting, the company discussed how they going to expand Jio for the future. Jio Mart is launched to rival the Amazon, Flipkart, and showcased Jio glasses for mixed reality. And the announcement of Jio 5G is a major highlight of all.
According to a representative told to economic times – “We have now developed everything end-to-end around 5G technology. We are more scalable than these vendors and are fully automated since we have our own cloud-native platform. In 5G, we will totally be self-sufficient,”.
Jio has its own made in India 5G technology and can also provide 5G solutions to others. This will furthermore help Jio to become self-reliant under the “ATMANIRBHAR BHARAT” initiative. It already informed the Department of Telecommunications and asked permission for the 5G trials based on its own technology. It had also given a separate presentation to the DoT to explain its technology and possible use cases.
Once the 5G trial is successful along with the Internet of things (IoT) devices, hardware productions could start domestically. Today, there are many foreign 5G suppliers like Huawei, Ericsson, Nokia, Samsung, and ZTE. Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea also working on 5G trials with different 5G suppliers. Airtel has signed a huge deal with Nokia for 5G.
Jio 4G voice had previously using Nokia and Oracle’s 4G voice equipment which now replaced with Jio’s own equipment. There are many more steps Jio has taken to reduce the dependency on other foreign vendors. This is the first time any telecom company is investing to develop its own network equipment.
“Jio is actively looking to build 5G and IoT technology capability in-house through a mix of organic and inorganic approach. The move is unprecedented not only in India but also globally as most operators have relied on technology vendors for network equipment,” Ashwinder Sethi, Principal at Analysys Mason said.
Reliance merges their Rancore technologies with Jio in 2017 and in 2018 it acquires Radisys. Radisys acquisition further accelerates Jio’s global innovation and technology leadership in the areas of 5G, IoT, and open-source architecture adoption.
5G India launch
The launch of 5G in India is not likely to be seen soon. Spectrum auctions and allotment is to be done. According to reports, in India spectrum prices is higher compare to other countries which could delay the 5G rollout. Previously, 5G expected to launch in 2021 which now seems impossible. Ericsson, a network equipment vendor based in Sweden, has said 5G service is likely to be available in India only from 2022.
The Director-General of COAI, Rajan S Mathews said that the rollout of 5G is likely to be delayed by 5 years. This delay is likely to happen due to excessive base prices, insufficient spectrum, and unavailability of newer bands. Although, 5G smartphone is now available from many brands that we can’t use.
