Airtel and Intel partner for 5G Technology in India

Bharti Airtel has now entered into a partnership with Intel for the 5G network development by using vRAN / O-RAN technologies.

The partnership will allow Airtel to click into the hyperconnected world where industry 4.0, virtual or augmented reality, and cloud gaming become a major part of a day to day life.

Randeep Sekhon, Bharti Airtel CTO, said, "Airtel is delighted to have Intel as a part of its rapidly expanding partner ecosystem for 5G. Intel’s cutting-edge technologies and experience will contribute immensely to Airtel’s mission of serving India with world-class 5G services. We also look forward to working with Intel and home-grown companies to unlock India’s potential as a global 5G hub."

Dan Rodriguez, Intel corporate vice president, Network Platforms Group, said, "Being able to digitally power the vibrant population of India’s connected users requires scalable and agile networks that can evolve to address the growing demands of its users. Airtel is delivering their next-generation enhanced network with a breadth of Intel technology, including Intel® Xeon® Scalable processors and FlexRAN software to optimize RAN workloads with embedded intelligence, to scale their infrastructure and deliver on the promise of a connected India."

This is Intel’s second 5G-related partnership in India. Intel has also recently joined hands with Reliance Jio to help with its 5G network development which includes the areas of cloud, edge, 5G radio, core, and Artificial Intelligence.

Airtel will also deploy 3rd-Gen Xeon Scalable processors, eASICs and FPGAs, and Ethernet 800 series across its network. It will build a solid foundation for rolling out wide-scale 5G network slicing and mobile edge computing.

As a part of the O-RAN Alliance, Intel and Airtel will work closely to develop and build a range of Make in India 5G solutions and enable the telecom infra in India via different local partners, notes the announcement.