India's 5G space booming with global, domestic players pitching in

NEW DELHI: India's 5G dreams may have been delayed amid the pandemic but this has not been able to detract the equipment makers from engaging in terms of equipment manufacturing and network development.

Further, both domestic and global companies are set to benefit from the non-participation of Chinese majors Huawei and ZTE in the 5G trials.

Global equipment majors such as Ericsson are not the only ones in the game. Even domestic players have risen up to the occasion and are now actively pursuing tie ups along with growing their technical prowess.

Tech Mahindra, Sterlite Technologies Ltd and state-run ITI Ltd are among the Indian companies which have come up with 5G expertise.

The latest announcement of Tata Sons' subsidiary Panatone Finvest acquiring controlling stake in telecom equipment maker Tejas Networks would toughen the competition.

Panatone Finvest will buy a 43.3 per cent stake in Tejas Networks for Rs 1,850 crore and along with other Tata Group companies, Panatone would make a public announcement to acquire up to another 26 per cent stake in Tejas.

In a regulatory filing, Tejas said that it sees a very large opportunity in the telecom sector both in India and global markets with the new cycle of investments in 5G and fiber-based broadband rollouts.

In June, telecom giant Reliance's Jio partnered with US chipset maker Qualcomm to manufacture critical equipment for the 5G ecosystem in India.

Jio has also indigenously developed 5G Radio integrated with Jio's 5G core network and is in its development of in-house Massive MIMO and indoor 5G small cells is in advanced stages.

Tech Mahindra is also understood to be going with robust plans in terms of 5G technology.

The company recently reported strong earnings for the first quarter of FY22 and analysts are of the view that with the government's plan to stick to India-made 5G rollout, the company is expected the gain a significant portion of that "5G tech" pie.

As several partnerships in the telecom space have been announced, last month Bharti Airtel and Tata Consultancy Services announced partnership for the implementation of 5G solutions, starting pilot from January 2022. (IANS)

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