Delivering indigenous telecom technology

Driven by the commitment to make India self-reliant on telecom technologies, these four companies, two from the private sector and two from the public sector, played a crucial role. Their collaborative efforts have led to the development of India’s first indigenous 4G Stack, propelling the country into an elite league of nations like China, Finland, South Korea, Sweden, and the USA that have achieved cutting-edge telecom network technology. Currently, the market is dominated by global players like Ericsson, Nokia, Huawei, and Samsung, the latter making significant strides in the field.

The country’s indigenous telecom technology stack primarily refers to the development of the 4G core software that facilitates end-to-end call control across telco networks developed by the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), the Radio system supplied by Tejas Networks, and the software component to stitch and integrate the 4G solution by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).

The indigenous telecom technology stack in India primarily revolves around the development of the 4G core software, responsible for seamless end-to-end call control across telco networks. The Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) has developed this core software, while Tejas Networks has supplied the radio system, and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has contributed the software component necessary to integrate and stitch the 4G solution together. However, none of this would have been possible without the active involvement of the public-sector telecommunications company, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), which provided the crucial opportunity to conduct the Proof of Concept (PoC) by running the 4G stack on its network.

The successful completion of the PoC and the demonstration of its ability to handle a 10-million subscriber load at the Ambala site on BSNL’s network have paved the way for the nationwide rollout of the 4G stack. Once the hardware is scaled, the system will be capable of handling even higher call volumes, enabling the pan-India rollout of 4G by BSNL. The agreement between BSNL and the TCS-led consortium is valued at approximately Rs 24,500 crore, including the supply and maintenance of equipment for 100,000 4G sites.

The 4G Converged CORE developed by C-DOT is a cloud-based solution that adheres to international standards set by 3GPP. It boasts a highly scalable, virtualised, and modular architecture, ensuring a simplified yet efficient system. One of the notable advantages of this solution is its resilience against external threats, as it is entirely developed within the country. It operates on commercially off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware, leading to reduced capital and operational expenditures. Additionally, the absence of vendor lock-in ensures cost-effectiveness, regular updates, upgrades, and long-term support for service providers.

Experts highlight the immense benefits of the 4G Core technology for telecom network service providers, public safety networks, strategic telecom networks, rural telecommunication networks, infrastructure networks, and private on-campus networks. It comes as no surprise that several countries have expressed interest in India’s “Made in India” 4G stack. In fact, India’s Minister of Railways, Communication, Electronics and IT, Ashwini Vaishnav, has described it as a significant milestone marking India’s emergence in the telecom technology front.

The recognition of the outstanding commitment and work done by TCS, C-DOT, Tejas Networks, and BSNL in the development and launch of the Indian 4G stack has been unanimous. The Telecom Leadership Awards 2022 Jury and Editors of Voice&Data have acknowledged their visionary approach and unwavering determination in completing the testing phase and reaching the threshold for the launch of the indigenous 4G stack.

The award acknowledges the enablers of indigenous 4G equipment, infrastructure, and solutions and also highlights BSNL’s pivotal role in providing the platform for this groundbreaking achievement. The successful deployment of the indigenous 4G-based communication network is also likely to open up opportunities for exporting Made in India 4G and 5G technology equipment and software in the days to come.