Jio Platforms, Qualcomm to manufacture critical 5G equipment

Reliance Industries Limited said that its Jio Platforms has collaborated with U.S.-based chipmaker Qualcomm technologies for local manufacturing of “critical equipment” to catalyze the 5G ecosystem in India.

Both companies previously partnered to develop “open and interoperable” interface compliant architecture based 5G solutions with a virtualized RAN and had last year achieved over a 1 Gbps milestone on the Jio 5GNR solution using the chipmaker’s 5G RAN Platforms.

Interestingly, Qualcomm has recently joined hands with Jio’s archrival Bharti Airtel for the telco’s 5G roll out in India. Under the partnership, Airtel will leverage Qualcomm’s 5G RAN platforms to rollout virtualized and Open-RAN 5G networks in India.

In addition, Jio has already developed an end-to-end 5G stack, including 5G radio and core network solutions. RIL revealed that the telco has already completed testing of its 5G radio and core solution, which will now enable a self-sufficient and cost-effective rollout.

“India is at the forefront of the global digital revolution. Jio is accelerating the rollout of digital platforms and indigenously developed next-generation 5G stack, making it affordable and available everywhere,” RIL said in its annual report, adding that the telecom operator’s radio frequency capacity and coverage for 5G networks is already underway based on 4G data traffic profile.

As such, Qualcomm also invested $97 million in Jio Platforms last year.

Reliance Jio is currently preparing for 5G field trials having received trial spectrum from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). The telco will test its own 5G technology but will also work with its 4G partner Samsung along with Ericsson and Nokia.

RIL also revealed that Jio Platforms is also working with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) on standardizing 5G device configurations.

“With 5G technology, Indian subscribers will experience the benefits of higher data rates, low latency communications and enhanced digital experiences across a wide array of connected devices, from 5G-enabled smartphones, enterprise laptops and AR/VR products to vertical IoT solutions,” RIL said.