Mavenir looks to secure O-RAN deal with Vodafone Idea: Report

The first pilot of the technology for Vodafone Idea is being conducted in Jalandhar, Punjab

U.S.-based Open RAN (O-RAN) provider Mavenir expects to secure a commercial agreement from Indian telco Vodafone Idea for the deployment of the latter’s 5G network by the end of the year, Indian news site Mint reported, citing top executives from Mavenir.

According to the report, the first pilot of the technology for Vodafone Idea is being conducted in Jalandhar, Punjab to test the equipment and functioning of the network.

“We have moved all the manufacturing of all the radios to India, from Mexico and Florida,” said Mavenir President and CEO Pradeep Kohli. “They’re manufactured by Jabil in India, and I will need six to nine months to scale up. But, we’re prepared to deploy whenever the customer wants.”

“We’re working with them, how do we take this to a larger scale in the state of one particular circle and subsequently to the other side also, sometime later this year, you will see a major rollout coming with us, pre-condition that they need to raise funds,” said Mavenir India head Sanjay Bakaya.

Rival operators Reliance Jio Infocomm and Bharti Airtel had opted for traditional 5G technologies from Nokia and Ericsson to launch their 5G network in the country.  Vodafone Idea is the only operator in India that aims to launch 5G using O-RAN architecture.  Vodafone Idea has yet to launch 5G services commercially, despite having tested out the service in two locations—Delhi and Pune.

Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of Aditya Birla Group and one of the main promoters of Vodafone Idea, said in November 2023 that the company was expecting to commercially launch 5G services during 2024.

Vodafone Idea CEO Akshaya Moondra recently told investors during a previous earnings call that the operator was in discussions with several technology partners to finalize its 5G strategy, which includes implementing vRAN and O-RAN technologies.

The carrier is also working with partners to develop device ecosystems and 5G uses cases for the domestic market, the report said.

Moondra also that Vodafone Idea expects to switch off its 3G network in 2025 and refarm the 2.1 GHz band for its 4G network with the main aim of boosting capacity. Vodafone Idea has already turned off 3G in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Mumbai and Kolkata, according to the report.

In the carrier’s annual report, the telco had said it has concluded device testing of all major OEMs on its upcoming 5G mobile broadband network. Vodafone Idea has partnered with various OEMs to test the compatibility of available 5G handsets in 5G clusters in the cities of Delhi and Pune. “The company is working towards rolling out 5G for consumers. The deployment will be accelerated subsequent to the consummation of fund raising,” Vodafone Idea previously said.