Reliance Jio Teams Up With Qualcomm To Manufacture Critical 5G Components

Indian telecom giant Reliance’s  Jio Platforms has partnered with US chipset manufacturer Qualcomm to locally manufacture “critical equipment” to catalyse the 5G ecosystem in India.

The Department of Telecommunications had permitted telecommunications providers to conduct 5G trials with their partner original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and technology providers, provided they are not based out of China.

The two companies had achieved over a 1 Gbps milestone last year on the Jio 5GNR solution using the chip maker’s 5G RAN Platform by collaborating to develop “open and interoperable” interface compliant architecture based 5G solutions, Reliance said in its annual report. Qualcomm had also invested $97 Mn in Jio Platforms last year. Jio and Qualcomm have previously also partnered to host the Call of Duty Mobile Aces Esports Challenge.

Reliance Jio is accelerating the rollout of digital platforms and indigenously developed next-generation 5G stack. The end-to-end 5G stack, which includes 5G radio and core network solutions has already cleared the testing phase and is ready for a self-sufficient and cost-effective rollout.

Reliance also revealed that Jio Platforms is also working with OEMs on standardising 5G device configurations. The company may also launch its first low-cost 5G smartphone in partnership with the tech giant and investor Google at its annual general meeting (AGM) scheduled for later this month.

According to the annual report, Jio Platforms has raised Rs 1,52,056 crore across 13 global marquee investors.

“With 5G technology, Indian subscribers will experience the benefits of higher data rates, low latency communications and enhanced digital experiences across a wide array of connected devices, from 5G-enabled smartphones, enterprise laptops and AR/VR products to vertical IoT solutions,” Reliance said.

Qualcomm is also in partnership with Bharti Airtel for its 5G roll out plans in India. Under the partnership, Airtel will utilise Qualcomm’s 5G RAN platforms to deploy virtualised and Open-RAN 5G networks in India.

Airtel had announced on January 28 that it had become the first telecom service provider in India to successfully “demonstrate and orchestrate” live 5G services.