Huawei To Deploy An AI-Enabled Pre-5G Technology On Vodafone Idea's Network

On Monday, Huawei, the China-based electronics giant, announced that it had launched India’s first AI-enabled pre-5G technology on the network of Vodafone Idea.

According to Huawei, the deployment of this large AI-enabled multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) network will improve user’s experience by three times with the same spectrum set. According to Vishant Vora, Vodafone Idea's Chief Technology Officer, the company committed to work toward next-gen technologies to enhance its network. Giving AI capacity to the deployment of MIMO, which was also the largest in India, proved that the company was heading to a future-proof network.

Massive MIMO utilizes 5G technology in a network for 4G. Huawei India's CEO, Jay Chen said that the company was delighted to be part of the plan of Vodafone Idea's to prepare for a 5G future. This deployment would help to enhance the company's network of pre-5G massive MIMO.

At the moment, Vodafone Idea’s MIMO deployment is the country’s largest and ranks third in the world.

MIMO’s deployment has triggered several claims and counterclaims between Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea Ltd, two large Indian wireless network operators. They both claim that they are the leading telco when it comes to the size of pre-5G technology deployment.

With the same spectrum, the MIMO technology can offer a four-time larger capacity, enabling telecom operators to create a transport network ready for 5G without investing in the extra spectrum. MIMO can also help to solve the network’s issue relating to capacity in India’s urban areas, along with providing additional coverage in rural areas of the country.

Reliance Jio has already deployed the technology in a handful of large cities in the country, which, due to the massive growth of traffic, has been experiencing slow data speed.