Airtel files plea for OpenRAN-based 5G trials in Punjab

Bharti Airtel has filed a fresh application with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) seeking approval to conduct 5G trials with US-based Mavenir in the Punjab circle using the OpenRAN technology, people familiar with the matter said.

Vodafone Idea had last year submitted a similar application to conduct OpenRAN technology-based 5G trial with Mavenir in Delhi. It is already running 4G trials with Mavenir in several cities.

“The application was submitted recently to test the OpenRAN technology especially for 5G services in India. OpenRAN is going to be a big focus area for Airtel, thereby the application,” a person aware of the development told ET.

Airtel didn’t respond to ET’s query, while Mavenir declined to comment. OpenRAN as a concept enables hardware and software to be dis-aggregated, unlike conventional radio gears, allowing technology products from different suppliers to co-exist with the various software providers.