The telecom industry is looking towards the adaption of the 5G technology and its use cases, however, there are a lot of hurdles before that is fully achieved. But, in a new update, as reported by ET Telecom, Bharti Airtel has started talking to partners and even getting into ones to create 5G use cases on the enterprise side. The Sunil Bharti Mittal led telecom operator is also in talks with some of the companies to develop its ‘private LTE’ technology which would power smart factories, and industry 4.0 use cases. It is already known that the 5G technology, if available at the right cost and with proper use cases, would change the face of the telecom sector.
Bharti Airtel Working On Enterprise 5G Use Case
As per Ajay Chitkara, Director and CEO, Airtel Business, “For 5G, almost all use cases are focussed towards enterprises. 5G ecosystem is currently being built, and the whole devices cost need to come…what we are doing is making sure that at least we start building partnerships and alliances for right use cases.” Chitkara also added that a lot of 5G use cases could be run on private LTE networks. The executive gave the example of the state-led telecom operator, BSNL which had partnered up with the Finnish equipment manufacturer Nokia to bring industrial automation to BSNL’s plant, based in Chennai. He also added saying that instead of simply building a network, Bharti Airtel is looking towards coming up with innovative and enterprise-based use cases.
Private LTE Market to Have More Growth in Coming Years
The use of private LTE networks is being done across factories in a worldwide manner for factory floor robotics, logistics and warehousing. As per the report on the matter, the private LTE market has been estimated to register a CAGR of 12.63% in the next five years, according to ResearchAndMarkets. The Airtel executive also added that the private LTE space is being led by the telecom operators instead of the telecom equipment manufacturers who were previously pursuing discussion with enterprise customers for the implementation of the technology. As per the statement of the exec, Bharti Airtel is coming up with use cases to develop verticals in its business, and it possesses deeper knowledge. Helped with this knowledge, and in partnership with the gear manufacturers, Airtel will focus on solving problems to convert them into 5G use cases. Lastly, Airtel has added that equipped with these use cases, and it is approaching a lot of customers along with its partners.
According to analysts, private LTE networks offer the best alternative for improved security when it comes to business applications for enterprises. Some of the benefits of the private LTE network include high capacity, high speed, low latency, high security, wider range and interoperability.
Reliance Jio Also Showcased Select Use Cases
In the telecom industry today, there are two big telecom companies which are leading the competition in the sector, and these are Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio. While Bharti Airtel is focusing its efforts on coming up with use cases on the enterprise front, Reliance Jio has also showcased a handful of use cases this year in the IMC 2019. To do this, Reliance Jio had partnered up with Samsung and showcased use cases which included virtual classroom which allowed the users to watch 360-degree virtual lecture directly from the classroom. In addition to the public safety use case, Reliance Jio also showcased a public-safety use case as well.
