Cash-strapped Indian carrier Vodafone Idea (Vi) is shopping for vendors to deploy 5G gear, according to a report in the Economic Times of India. The carrier is looking to lower costs by avoiding a Nokia and Ericsson duopoly, a senior company executive told ET.
However, at the end of November, Vi demonstrated several use cases on a 5G trial network set up by Vi in Pune, India, that deploys Ericsson Radios and Ericsson Dual Mode Core based on cloud native technology consisting of 5G standalone, 5G non-standalone and LTE packet core functions.
“This will keep the telco from overpaying Nokia and Ericsson for the equipment. More so, Vi would come in a strong position to negotiate prices with the two companies (Nokia, Ericsson) if it has other options as well,” Telecom Talk opined.
Vi’s shopping list will not include Chinese equipment makers Huawei and ZTE, because the India’s Telecom Ministry blocked them from its 5G trials in May 2021, according to BBC News. But Vi has partnered with L&T Smart World & Communication, Athonet, and Indian start-ups Vizzbee Robotics Solution and Tweek Labs. In April 2020, Vi expanded its 4G Open RAN based deployments, using Mavenir’s Open RAN solutions. “Vi is committed to OpenRAN and will extend the deployment of TDD and Ma-MIMO sites in other cities this year,” Mavenir said at the time.
By J. Sharpe Smith Inside Towers Technology Editor
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