Mukesh Ambani’s Jio, Qualcomm test 5G; achieve over 1 Gbps speed

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Qualcomm and Reliance Jio on Tuesday announced they have aligned efforts on 5G in order to fast-track development and rollout of indigenous 5G network infrastructure and services in India.

Leveraging Qualcomm’s technology, Jio has indigenously developed a 5G RAN (Radio Access Network) product that has achieved ultra-high throughputs, and the product is already tested by a Tier-1 carrier in the US, Mathew Oommen, president, Reliance Jio Infocomm said.

Speaking at the Qualcomm 5G Summit, Oommen said, “I am excited to announce that with Qualcomm’s technology and support, Jio has indigenously developed a 5G RAN product that has achieved over 1 Gbps throughput…in fact joining the gigabit throughput clock, the product is already tested and validated by a Tier-1 carrier in the US.”

This latest move signifies the entry of Jio and India into the 5G product club. At present, only a handful of nations, including the US, South Korea, Australia, Switzerland and Germany are able to showcase 1 Gbps speeds for 5G customers.

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc and Reliance Jio Platforms along with its wholly-owned subsidiary Radisys Corporation have announced their expanded efforts to develop open and interoperable interface compliant architecture based 5G solutions with a virtualized RAN, a Qualcomm statement said.

“This work is intended to fast track the development and roll-out of indigenous 5G network infrastructure and services in India,” the statement added.

Earlier this year, Reliance Industries had announced that Qualcomm Ventures will pick up 0.15 per cent stake in Jio Platforms for Rs 730 crore. It recently received the subscription amount for the deal, and allotted the equity shares.

The latest progress on the 5G product portfolio neatly dovetails into Jio’s overall plans to develop homegrown 5G telecom solutions, as was outlined by Reliance Industries’ Chairman Mukesh Ambani at the company’s annual general meeting in July this year.

RIL had earlier said that Qualcomm Ventures’ investment would deepen the ties between Qualcomm and Jio Platforms to support the latter on its journey to rollout advanced 5G infrastructure and services for Indian customers.

In all, Jio Platforms — that houses India’s youngest but largest telecom firm Jio and apps — has raised about Rs 1,52,056 crore from 13 investors, including Facebook, Google, Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners, General Atlantic, KKR, Mubadala, ADIA, TPG, L Catterton, Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, Intel Capital and Qualcomm Ventures, for a total 32.9 per cent stake.