Reliance Jio, a leading Indian telecom operator, is reportedly in talks with the EV (electric vehicle) manufacturer Tesla for the deployment of a private 5G network. Owned by Elon Musk, Tesla is looking to set up an EV manufacturing plant in India. The development has been reported by Financial Express, which said that the talks are in a very early stage. The deal would only happen once Tesla 100% confirms its plans for setting up a manufacturing plant in India.
Reliance Jio is deploying 5G SA (standalone) across India and can help enterprises with setting up private 5G networks. Tesla would benefit from the presence of a captive private 5G network. It would enable the car-maker to automate the production process while handling all the connected car solutions and managing all critical operations.
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The Indian telcos would be happy to partner with large corporates for providing them with captive private 5G network services as it enables them to monetise 5G. It is really hard for the telecom players to monetise 5G in a large-scale manner with the consumers due to a lack of relevant use cases. As the connected ecosystem grows in the homes of consumers, the need for 5G networks would start growing.
It is also interesting to note that enterprises don't really need the telcos to set up 5G networks. They can purchase the spectrum themselves as the government has allowed it now. It is something that the telcos are very much against as they believe it disrupts the concept of a level playing field. It is also worth noting here that Jio's arch-rival Airtel has already deployed a private 5G network for Mahindra Group's Chakan manufacturing facility. It became the country's first 5G-enabled auto manufacturing unit.
