Long Before Border Conflict, Reliance Jio Has Worked To Prevent Huawei From Infiltrating India's 5G Network

Reliance Jio has recently filed its applications to the DoT (short for the Department of Telecom) to research 5G technology. If Mukesh Ambani-led enterprise succeeds in this endeavor, it will be the world’s first carrier to own this technology, instead of partnering with providers like Ericsson, Nokia, and especially, Huawei.

Reliance Jio’s intention of making in-house 5G technology has been around since 2018 when the company acquired an US firm specialized in IoT (Internet of Things) and 5G called Radisys.

Now, Reliance Jio has finally reached the testing stage with the applications filed with the DoT. This news follows Airtel’s announcement to partner with Nokia to bring 5G to India.

With India’s two biggest telcos looking for alternatives for Huawei’s tech, the Chinese company might see no hope in infiltrating to the country’s 5G networks.

When the India-China border clash is escalating fast, rumor has it that the Indian government is considering forbidding telcos from sourcing 5G equipment from ZTE and Huawei, two Chinese companies. This mirrors the resentment Indians are showing to anything China and the latest trend to boycott Chinese products.

The government has already banned MTNL and BSNL from buying any product from Huawei for their 4G networks.

For now, Jio’s 4G network is from Samsung, a South Korean company, but in some circles of Vodafone Idea and Airtel, Huawei tech is still used.

With Jio testing its own 5G technology and Airtel working with Nokia, Vodafone Idea might have to watch its back and it subscribers might have to wait for a long time to see something like this tech, given that fact that the telco has not even launched Wi-Fi Calling, a minor feature.

Some EU countries and the US have long been criticizing Huawei for its alleged connection to the Chinese government. However, India has cleared the company from any charge relating to this.

So the decision to limit Huawei’s appearance in the 5G networks may stem mostly from the latest tension between the two countries.

While Jio is still working on its solution, Airtel may see a head start in India as Nokia’s tech has been in used in several countries in the world.

However, do not expect to see or use this tech anytime soon as the process to set it up may take around a year. The Indian government has not yet decided on the trials and the broadband auction has been delayed to October-December this year.

According to some reports, without ZTE and Huawei, India will see a 10% to 15% increase in costs for making 5G equipment.

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