The European vendors will face competition from Mavenir of the US and South Korea’s Samsung, which have been running pilot projects nascent technologies.
Officials said Vodafone Idea is seeking updates on technology advancements as it looks to deploy the latest equipment. Vendors are likely to be cautious and look to build safety clauses into contracts. Last year, vendors had refused to provide gear on credit to Vodafone Idea, which was struggling to pay for supplies provided under previous contracts.
Vodafone Idea: As per the presentation, Vi has deployed new roadmap architectures of virtualised Radio Access Network (vRAN), and Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN), and has tested the Vi AirFiber home broadband solution with multiple partners.
Vodafone Idea: He said Vi – India’s only loss-making private sector carrier – is in discussions with various technology partners for finalisation of its 5G rollout and is also working with partners to develop India-relevant 5G use cases and build device ecosystems. “We are also in advanced stages of 5G trials of embracing new technologies such as vRAN & ORAN,” Moondra said.