Airtel and Sercomm Jointly Announce World's First Virtualized TDD Small Cell

Airtel and Sercomm announced the launch of the world's first vRAN-based TDD small cell. Jointly developed by Airtel and Sercomm, the small cell offers a plug-and-play approach for the cloud radio network connection and will deliver enhanced efficiencies.

With Split Option 2 technology, the distributed unit (DU) utilizes various broadband links as a backhaul connecting to the cloud-based radio network.

The small cell not only greatly improves operation reliability but also facilitates a heterogeneous network. Adopting an open, distributed, and split RAN (Radio Access Network) architecture, enables an efficient 4G-to-5G upgrade path for Airtel.

Randeep Sekhon, CTO, Bharti Airtel said, "At Airtel, we are obsessed with our customers and adding value to their lives with our offerings. The introduction of TDD small cells would enable us to further enhance our indoor network connectivity and delight our customers with a superior indoor experience.

We are happy to partner with Sercomm for this technology innovation and look forward to working closely with them as we continue building a future-ready network."

"Sercomm has devoted significant R&D resources in finding innovative solutions to deliver enhanced telecommunications services. Through the collaboration with Airtel, we look forward to continuing technology innovation on the path to revolutionary breakthrough," said James Wang, CEO of Sercomm.

"We are pleased to team up with an industry leader like Airtel in realizing a next-generation mobile network. Together we will open a new era for telecommunication service."