Reliance Jio Infocomm ties up with Ericsson to build 5G Standalone network

Representative Image (Illustration by Suneesh Kalarickal)

Communications service provider (CSP) Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (Jio) announced its long-term strategic contract with Ericsson to roll out 5G Standalone (SA) in the country, according to a statement from the company.

The release said that this is the first partnership between Jio and Ericsson for radio access network deployment in the country. Earlier this year, the auctions for the 5G spectrum were concluded in August. In the auction, Reliance Jio, the telecom arm of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), was the largest acquirer of 5G spectrum, with bids of over Rs 88,000 crore.

“We are delighted to partner with Ericsson for Jio’s 5G SA rollout. Jio transformed the digital landscape in India with the launch of LTE services in 2016. We are confident that Jio’s 5G network will accelerate India’s digitalisation and will serve as the foundation for achieving our nation’s ‘Digital India’ vision,” Reliance Jio Chairman Akash Ambani said in the announcement.

The partnership aims to upgrade the network infrastructure to deliver a "truly transformative 5G experience" to consumers and enterprises the company said.

The 5G SA technology is expected to drive innovation and build a 5G ecosystem and deliver advanced services, the release noted. The network will utilise Ericsson’s energy-efficient 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) products and solutions from Ericsson Radio System and E-band microwave mobile transport solution to maximize the benefits of 5G to CSPs and their customers for individual subscribers or enterprise and industry customers, according to the release.

“India is building world-class digital infrastructure that will drive innovation, job creation and entrepreneurship across the country. We are happy to partner with Jio in those ambitions, through Ericsson 5G Standalone connectivity, which will be a major catalyst in meeting those digital transformation goals across society, enterprise and industry," Börje Ekholm, President and CEO of Ericsson, said.