Rakuten Symphony and Tejas Networks announced on Thursday they have formed a multi-faceted strategic partnership to develop integrated Open RAN solutions and engage in joint marketing efforts to sell them both in India and internationally.
The partnership aims to integrate Rakuten Symphony's CU and DU software, OSS, and cloud portfolio with Tejas's 4G/5G radio portfolio. Rakuten Symphony and Tejas will also collaborate on exploring opportunities to deploy and expand 4G and 5G networks in India and abroad. No financial details were disclosed.
“By combining Rakuten Symphony's cloud-native software and orchestration capabilities with Tejas Networks' proven radio technology, we hope to deliver open, flexible and high-performing network solutions that meet the demands of today's rapidly evolving telecom landscape,” said Rakuten Symphony president Sharad Sriwastawa in a joint statement.
Just how much demand there is for Open RAN in India remains an open question. Of India’s three major private telcos, Vodafone Idea is the only one that has trialled Open RAN, with Mavenir deploying equipment for a pilot project early last year. Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel have said in the past that the Open RAN ecosystem isn’t mature enough or cost-effective enough yet to deliver on its promise.
That’s why the partnership has also set an eye on overseas markets, which will give Tejas an in-road to markets in the Middle East, Africa and Southeast Asia where Rakuten Symphony is conducting Open RAN trials with operators.
“Through this partnership with Rakuten Symphony, we intend to combine our field-proven RAN infrastructure solutions with Rakuten's resilient cloud native RAN software stack and orchestration solution, to provide a compelling solution to the global market,” said Tejas CTO and co-founder Kumar N. Sivarajan.
