New Delhi: A Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) entity is set up to provide a range 5G shared network infrastructure solutions inside Africa with a local company supported by Ghanamarking the conglomerate's entry into global competition telecom technology and equipment suppliers.
Radisysowned by the RIL unit Jio Platforms Ltd (JPL), along with Tech Mahindra and that of Finland Nokiaworks together with Next Gen Infrastructure Co. (NGIC), in which the Ghanaian government, Digital rising And K-Net keep your own capital for the trip.
NGIC, Africa's first neutral 5G shared infrastructure provider, plans to offer 4G and 5G network support in Ghana and then across Africa.
Under the proposed business model, NGIC will invest approximately $200 million over three years to scale up its 4G and 5G networks. These will be offered to mobile operators in Africa as a shared infrastructure resource, optimizing costs for local telecom companies that do not want to invest in expensive network rollouts.
People with knowledge of the matter say JPL-backed Radisys NGIC is likely to offer its own 5G software stack.
JPL's 5G stack uses Open-RAN (radio access network) technology and equipment to deliver 5G-based fixed wireless access (FWA) services in African markets, starting with Ghana.
“We are pleased to be part of this strategic partnership in Ghana and Africa and look forward to working with all strategic partners in realizing NGIC's vision,” Radisys CEO Arun Bhikshesvaran told ET.
He added that bringing FWA together with 4G and 5G mobile services will help drive economic growth and digital inclusion. “Radisys looks forward to helping Ascend and NGIC build disruptive and affordable shared broadband infrastructure across Ghana,” he said. “In addition, our communications platform and digital applications will help create new digital experiences.”
He further highlighted that NGIC's Network as a Service (NaaS) model is attractive to mobile network operators (MNOs) as they look to optimize capital and operational expenditures by leveraging the Open-RAN architecture.
Hire global suppliersChair Mukesh Ambani had unveiled RIL's plan to become a telecom technology provider four years ago at the company's annual general meeting. He announced at the time that Jio had developed a homegrown 5G technology solution and planned to offer it to other telecom companies around the world, a move that would take on global vendors like Nokia, Ericsson, Huawei and Samsung, in what experts said. was the first initiative by a mobile provider.
“Once Jio's 5G solution is proven at Indian scale, Jio Platforms would be well positioned to be an exporter of 5G solutions to other telecom operators globally, as a complete managed service,” Ambani had said in 2020.
Jio rival Bharti Airtel already operates mobile broadband services in 14 African countries. The Sunil Bharti Mittal-led company is the second largest telecom operator on the continent. Growing Indian influence in Africa underlines the impact of its cheap, high-speed data model, which is at the heart of the country's telecommunications success story.
“NGIC's NaaS model aims to leverage India's successful model of affordable handsets, digital platform, localized content and applications,” Harkirit Singh, CEO of Ascend Digital and Executive Director of NGIC, told ET. “NGIC plans to replicate a high-speed mobile data model like India across Africa, starting with Ghana.”
FWA equipment and smartphones
NGIC is structured to include mobile operators and strategic partners as potential capital investors in the future. It will build exclusive national 4G and 5G networks and launch affordable 4G and 5G-enabled FWA equipment and smartphones in Ghana within the calendar year. Two mobile operators – AT Ghana and Telecel Ghana – have already announced partnerships with NGIC.
