This is our second edition of this report that focuses on the 5G developments in India, including traditional 4G and 5G RAN and open vRAN, geopolitical trends, ecosystem, and technology. This report also includes cellular subscribers' data by service provider, 4G and 5G BTS units and sales, a 5-year forecast for eNBs, gNBs, vCUs, vDUs, RUs, and RAN vendor market shares and analysis.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT
KEY TAKEAWAYS
INDIA'S RAN MARKET HAS COOLED OFF, BUT ITS SWELLING LOCAL ECOSYSTEM HAS BIG INTERNATIONAL AMBITIONS
- THIS 5G RACE CREATED A RAN ROLLER COASTER ...
- ...WITH ERICSSON BUCKLED UP IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT
- It's musical chairs between Ericsson and Nokia
- What's interesting in Jio's selection is that for 4G, Samsung was the sole vendor
- In the meantime, Samsung pursues its ascension by bagging Bharti Airtel as new 5G customer
- Samsung got the Airtel deal at the expense of Huawei and ZTE
- In addition, Airtel picked Mavenir to introduce open RAN in specific parts of its diverse 4G footprint
- As a result of such 4G diversity, Airtel needed to deploy 5G NSA to ensure a smooth transition from 4G to 5G
- Lastly, Tejas Networks makes the bulk of the Other category
- 2024 IS LOOKING DOWN, THE CALM BEFORE THE NEXT STORM...
- ...TRIGGERED BY AT LEAST $2B SECOND ROUND 5G UPGRADE
- Open RAN is the next BIG thing in India but be patient!
- THIS 2-HORSE RACE IS THE RESULT OF THE FORMATION OF A NEAR DUOPOLY...
- ...And the rise of a gigantic ecosystem with great international ambitions
- So far, 4G LTE has remained the main focus of a large majority of these local vendors but there is a strong signal that 5G, 6G, and open RAN are on the agenda
- India's largest IT services firm, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), is already joining the 5G party...
- ...And finally, India is actively working on promoting exports of 4G, 5G and future 6G systems
- Last but not least, what about a return of the Chinese vendors in India?
- BOTTOM LINE: GET READY FOR MORE COMPETITION IN THE NEAR FUTURE