Latest news with #Bhatnagar
United News of India
19 hours ago
- Business
- United News of India
Jio platforms deploy 10 active network slices to boost performance
Business Economy New Delhi, July 28 (UNI) Aayush Bhatnagar (chief technology development officer, Jio Platforms Limited) announced on his LinkedIn post that Jio Platforms Limited (JPL) deployed 10 active network slices on its 5G network. Bhatnagar posted ' Network slicing is no longer just a concept – it's live nationwide, powering real-world applications.' 'With Jio platforms' robust 5G SA(Standalone) Core and Network Slicing Platform (NSP), now 10 active networks are in production, optimized for scale, performance, and reliability,' Bhatnagar added in his LinkedIn post. The post also stated that these network slices are purpose-driven and specially designed for the industries, including Internet of Things (IoT), gaming, Airfiber (Fixed Wireless Access), and mission-critical services. Bhatnagar stressed the capabilities of network slices and stated in his post about the capabilities. He highlighted that every slice is carrying real-world traffic, and these are powered up by the Jio Network Slicing Platform. Network slicing refers to the fundamental capability powered by 5G SA architecture. It allows service providers to build end-to-end networks fulfilling specific requirements. UNI SAS PRS
Time of India
20 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Jio Platforms deploys 10 live 5G network slices nationwide for various use cases
NEW DELHI: Jio Platforms (JPL) has deployed 10 network slices on its homegrown fifth-generation ( 5G ) standalone (SA) Core to power various use cases, its senior vice president Aayush Bhatnagar said on Monday. 'Network slicing is no longer just a concept — it's live, nationwide, and powering real-world applications. With Jio Platforms' robust 5G SA Core and Network Slicing Platform (NSP), 10 active network slices are now in production, optimised for scale, performance, and reliability,' Bhatnagar said in a post on professional social networking platform LinkedIn. These 5G network slices, he said, are purpose-built for enterprise, the Internet of Things (IoT), gaming, Jio's fixed wireless access (FWA) service JioAirFiber, and mission-critical services. 'Production-grade and battle-tested for real-world traffic,' the top executive said, adding that network slices will deliver service level agreement (SLA)-driven 5G experiences to customers. Reliance Jio Infocomm , the country's top telecom operator, comprises the bulk of JPL's operations. Network slicing is a new service enabled by 5G SA networks. It allows telecom carriers to create multiple virtual network slices that operate across the same physical network. Each slice is isolated from other network traffic to give dedicated performance and eliminate the risk of network congestion, with the features of the slice tailored to the use case requirements. Network slicing is seen as a major application of the latest-generation networks, enabling telcos to create differentiated revenue streams across multiple industry verticals. Globally, telcos are either trialling the technology with their equipment vendor partners, or have deployed it for certain scenarios. Jio, in the first quarter of the fiscal year 2026 (Q1FY26), crossed the 200 million 5G subscribers milestone and 20 million home connections. ' Jio AirFiber is now the largest FWA (fixed wireless access) service provider in the world, with a base of 7.4 million subscribers,' said Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director, Reliance Industries, the parent of JPL, in the April-June 2025 quarter results statement of FY26.
Mint
5 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Draft telecom policy proposes incentives for using made-in-India gear
New Delhi: The government is looking to incentivise telecom operators for using indigenously designed and manufactured equipment, according to the draft National Telecom Policy (NTP), 2025. The move could boost local gear makers such as Tejas Networks, HFCL, STL, and startups in the domain and level the playing field with global manufacturers, including Nokia, Ericsson, Samsung and Cisco. Currently, private telecom operators largely rely on global companies to provide network equipment for rolling out their 5G services and expanding their 4 G network. The proposal echoes a similar provision in the 2018 policy that saw little implementation, raising concerns about execution this time. 'Incentives for telecom operators to buy domestic telecom products was also part of the last National Digital Communications Policy – 2018. However, we did not see any implementation of the same,' said Rakesh Bhatnagar, director general of Voice of Indian Commtech Enterprises (VoICE), which represents local gear makers. Bhatnagar said several Indian startups and companies are capable of supplying quality telecom equipment, but operators need support, including lower levies, so they can start using locally made gear. The draft NTP 2025 does not detail the kind of incentives to be given to telecom operators for using locally designed and manufactured equipment. 'Incentivising the use of locally designed and manufactured telecom gear is a welcome move, but we've seen similar efforts before. The telecom PLI scheme, despite good intent, saw limited uptake: by FY25, only around half of the approved companies reportedly received payouts," said Sumeysh Srivastava, associate director at the public policy firm The Quantum Hub (TQH). According to Srivastava, without clear demand signals, streamlined procurement, and better alignment across policy levers, manufacturers will continue to face scale and cost challenges. The policy needs to go beyond incentives. Starting from building trust in Indian R&D, ensuring timely disbursements, and fostering an ecosystem designed to compete globally, not just comply locally, he said. On 23 May, Mint reported that out of the 42 companies that were shortlisted for the telecom PLI scheme, only half claimed incentives. Citing a Right To Information (RTI) request, Mint reported that the scheme disbursed ₹1,162.04 crore by the end of FY25, against the ₹12,195 crore approved for five years. The scheme was introduced in February 2021 to incentivize the local manufacture of equipment such as network switches, transmission gear and set-top boxes. Also Read | How Samsung and 20 others missed out on an ambitious incentives scheme Policy goals The draft policy focuses on six strategic missions for the telecom sector with certain goals for the next five years. This includes universal, meaningful and affordable connectivity, promoting innovation and research and development, domestic manufacturing, secure and trusted telecom network, ease of doing business and sustainable telecom. The draft NTP 2025 is open for public consultation for the next 21 days. Among its local manufacturing goals, the government aims to increase domestic telecom manufacturing output by 150%. It aims to achieve 50% import substitution through telecom products designed, developed, and manufactured in the country, according to the draft policy. According to a 2024 report by NITI Aayog, more than 40% of telecom equipment such as 4G/5G signal processing units and antenna, are imported from China. The draft outlines 10 objectives for the next five years. This includes universal and meaningful connectivity for all, doubling the contribution of the sector to India's GDP, and achieving an annual investment of ₹1 trillion in the sector. It also plans to double the export of telecom products and services, and double the number of telecommunications startups. Besides, the government is also looking to double the sectoral research and development spending on emerging telecom technologies, create 1 million new jobs, upskill/reskill 1 million workers to meet the future demand, and strengthen security using quantum communications. The government also aims to reduce the carbon footprint of the sector by 30%. On 27 May, Mint reported that the five-year National Telecom Policy 2025-2030 will have a key focus on R&D on new telecom technologies, specifying details on the draft policy. Also Read | Trai wants more enforcement teeth to rein in telcos, may ask govt to amend rules Trai wants more enforcement teeth to rein in telcos, may ask govt to amend rules Universal connectivity As part of the universal connectivity goal, the government is looking to cover 100% of the population by 4G and 90% by 5G, with accessibility of devices for all. The goal is to also increase fiberization of towers from 46% to 80% and achieve fiberization of all gram panchayats (GPs) under BharatNet with an uptime of over 98%, according to the draft policy. To be sure, the government had set a target to achieve 70% tower fiberization by FY25. Tower fiberization refers to the process of connecting mobile towers to high-speed fiber-optic networks. This ensures quality of services for consumers. In fact, the 2018 policy had set targets to provide universal broadband connectivity, increase the digital communications sector's contribution to GDP to 8% from 6% in 2017, create 4 million jobs, and fiberization of at least 60% of towers, among other areas, by 2022. According to industry executives, in some of the areas such as public Wi-Fi hotspots, tower fiberization, targets for BharatNet connectivity, and home broadband penetration, the progress has been slow. Over the next five years, the government plans to enable the provision of fixed-line broadband networks to 45 million to 100 million households in the country, deploy 1 million public Wi-Fi hotspots, and use community Wi-Fi networks as an alternative for last-mile connectivity. According to Srivastava of The Quantum Hub, the policy consciously avoids thornier questions around regulating OTT communication platforms, a long-standing ask from the industry. In the emerging technology area, the government is looking to handhold 500 tech startups and MSMEs specializing in emerging technologies. The goal is to attain 10% global share in 6G-related intellectual property rights (IPRs). '(The government will) introduce innovative financing models like funds of funds, blended finance etc, to expand funding opportunities for the pool of telecom startups in India,' the draft policy said. For safety and security of telecom networks, the government has also talked about conducting analysis of telecom and networking equipment deployed in telecom network to demarcate and segregate equipment from non-trusted sources.
Time of India
6 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Use of single-band 2.4GHz Wi-Fi devices to impact infrastructure scalability, sustainability: Domestic group
NEW DELHI: The usage of single-band 2.4GHz-only devices or access points in the Centre's prestigious programs such as BharatNet may impact performance, scalability and sustainability of telecom infrastructure, following top chipset vendors -- Broadcom, Qualcomm, MediaTek and RealTek -- discontinuing technology support, a domestic industry group said. 'The continued use of 2.4GHz-only Wi-Fi products in BharatNet deployments is not merely a technical issue but a strategic oversight. It negatively impacts performance, scalability and the long-term sustainability of the infrastructure while sending the wrong message to the domestic technology ecosystem,' Rakesh Kumar Bhatnagar, director-general, Voice of Indian Communication Technology Enterprise (Voice), told ETTelecom Delhi-based group that represents Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), HFCL, Tejas Networks, Coral Telecom and Lekha Wireless, further said that an urgent and decisive action is needed to bring BharatNet in line with the current global broadband standards and to better serve rural communities and taxpayers. However, the state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited ( BSNL ) is yet to finalise the Gigabit Passive Optical Network Optical Network Terminal (GPON ONT) award order for the amended BharatNet phase III program that aims to connect more than 6 lakh villages with an optical fibre network. Meanwhile, it has mandated the use of dual-band and single-band access points in a 60:40 ratio, in one of its recent notice inviting tenders. GPON ONT is a device that is commonly used for the Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) rollout. These devices are used to convert optical signals originating from the fiber into electrical ones that can be used by routers, computers, and other devices to access the internet. Homegrown companies argue that the 2.4GHz-only Wi-Fi access points have technical incompetencies, bandwidth limitation and channel congestion, high-interference sensitivity, and outdated protocol support. 'Continuing with single-band procurement risks BharatNet becoming a dumping ground for obsolete technology.' While the devices have reached an end of life, the global chipset suppliers such as Broadcom, Qualcomm, MediaTek and Realtek have ceased support for single-band 2.4GHz hardware designs. Industry experts say that even ecosystem vendors including driver developers, firmware maintainers, and calibration tool providers have discontinued support for single-band 2.4GHz only utilities and drivers. 'This exposes BSNL and BharatNet to risks around firmware updates, security patches, and hardware maintenance.' Queries to BSNL as well as Broadcom, MediaTek and Realtek remain unanswered. Bhatnagar further said that the current situation appears to be a "strategic misalignment" with global Wi-Fi evolution, at a time when standards are evolving and the industry has embraced dual-band (2.4GHz + 5GHz) and tri-band (including 6GHz) as standard. Outdated technology, according to him, poses a threat to India's digital goals, and undermines the Digital India vision , reduces service quality in rural areas, and exacerbates the digital divide. The group further said that while the country's telecom department (DoT) and Telecom Engineering Centre (TEC) promote modern technologies such as Wi-Fi 6, BharatNet's procurement practices continue to reflect outdated standards, resulting in a "mismatch between policy intent and execution." The domestic industry group said that any plan a for deployment of older technology would be a waste of public funds, and future tenders must not allow procurement of single-band Wi-Fi devices, and the public sector telco may adopt a transition roadmap of BharatNet from Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) to Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) technology. Originally, the IEEE 802.11 wireless networking standard was released in 1997.
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Business Standard
7 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Leela Palaces Hotels operator posts consolidated net profit of ₹9 crore
Schloss Bangalore, the owner of the luxury hotel chain Leela Palaces Hotels and Resorts, reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 9 crore in the June quarter, its first after listing on the bourses early last month, reversing a net loss of Rs 75 crore in the same period last year. Meanwhile, its consolidated revenue from operations grew by 20 per cent to Rs 274.8 crore, up from Rs 228.2 crore in the year-ago period. Further, the company's revenue per available room (RevPAR) grew by 20 per cent, driven by a 13 per cent higher average daily rate (ADR), strong occupancy, and customers' increasing willingness to pay a premium for services. Occupancy rates for the group grew by 4 per cent to 63.6 per cent in the quarter. This RevPAR growth was higher than the industry average of 10 per cent, Anuraag Bhatnagar, Chief Executive Officer, told analysts on a post-earnings call. He added that the growth is likely to continue in the coming years, driven by the chain's expansion plans and a sustained supply gap in the luxury hospitality segment. According to consultancy firm HVS, the industry has approximately 170,000 branded keys, of which only 29,000 are luxury branded keys – a mere 17 per cent. This gap is expected to grow further, with luxury demand set to witness a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.7 per cent between 2025 and 2028, while luxury supply is expected to see a CAGR of 8.8 per cent. Leela Hotels currently operates 13 properties with 3,544 keys across 11 cities in India, including five owned, seven managed, and one franchised hotel. 'We are entering a defining phase of growth with eight hotels under development, including our strategic expansion into Mumbai through a landmark mixed-use development in Bandra Kurla Complex featuring a 250-key ultra-luxury hotel, complementing the 63 high-end serviced apartments under development near Mumbai International Airport,' Bhatnagar stated in a release. The serviced apartments are slated for completion by FY27. In total, this will add 966 keys to the chain's portfolio with an investment of Rs 400 crore for same-store sales growth, out of which Rs 100 crore has already been spent. 'We have Rs 1,130 crore on the contracted cycle for five hotels, which will be spent in the next 2.5 years,' management told analysts on the call. Further plans include expansion into high-growth markets including Agra, Srinagar, Ayodhya, Ranthambore, Bandhavgarh, and Sikkim, while enhancing existing assets, such as adding new banquet space at Leela Palace Delhi in the second quarter, new plunge pool villas at Leela Palace Udaipur by the March quarter, and launching its by-invitation-only private members' club ARQ in New Delhi, Bengaluru, and Chennai this year.
