State-owned Indian operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has entered into a strategic partnership with engineering services company L&T Technology Services (LTTS) to drive and enable global enterprises in their private 5G network deployments.
BSNL and LTTS says they plan to co-innovate and jointly bring to market private 5G connectivity solutions to accelerate digital transformation for enterprises.
The spectrum will be provided by BSNL, which will be the official network provider in the partnership. LTTS will anchor the private network requirements by deploying equipment, applications, servers, technology, software, and core for the integration of devices/sensors within the customer’s ecosystem.
This partnership marks LTTS’ entry into the 5G private network space, with LTTS assuming the role of a master system integrator for customers, offering not just a choice of technologies and equipment but also use case buildout.
LTTS cites information from IDC, suggesting fast growth for the private 5G market globally and an increased need in India where enterprises find the faster connection speed and lower latency of private networks appealing.
BSNL and other operators now seem to have a competitive advantage in this nascent market. As India’s Economic Times points out, the country’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) recently decided against giving spectrum directly to enterprises for captive private networks without auctions.
BSNL, meanwhile, has been pursuing this market opportunity for a while. It has already signed up systems integrator (SI) Amantya Technologies and IT solutions provider Echelon Edge to deploy private 5G networks for enterprises across India.
