Samsung in talks to manufacture 4G, 5G gear in India

Details: Manny Pham; Category: Optical & Fixed Networks; 24 March 2022; 5824 views

Samsung has reportedly made a pledge to sign up for a government scheme to manufacture telecom gear in India.

The Korean manufacturer who is more known for its class-leading smartphones, also manufactures network equipment, and is apparently looking to sign up to the second iteration of India’s Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, reported Economic Times.

Samsung is currently in talks with Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel to supply equipment for their 4G expansion and 5G rollout, according to sources speaking to ET.

“Samsung has made its stance clear to the DoT (Department of Telecommunications) in recent meetings. During its discussions, Samsung shared a letter with the government that says it will be interested in phase two of the PLI scheme,” said one source.

If proven to be true, this would be a reversal of course from Samsung which did not opt to take part in the first PLI scheme due to it not being a viable move as it had only one client at the time, Reliance Jio.

Samsung has plants in China, South Korea and Vietnam, the latter of which it will pump over US$900 million into to bolster smartphone manufacturing.

A Cisco executive revealed the US company is also considering setting up manufacturing in India to produce parts locally and feed demand for gear not manufactured in China.