Reliance Jio to sign $1.5 billion 5G network equipment deal with Nokia (“Home grown 5G” never happened)
Whatever happened to Jio’s claim of “home grown 5G“? Answer: It was a big bold faced lie! Almost 3 years ago, Jio Chairman Mukesh Ambani said his company had developed its own 5G solution “from scratch.” He said at the time, “Jio plans to launch “a world-class 5G service in India…using 100% home grown technologies and solutions,” he said in a statement at the Reliance Industries annual shareholders meeting. “Once Jio’s 5G solution is proven at India-scale, Jio Platforms would be well-positioned to be an exporter of 5G solutions to other telecom operators globally, as a complete managed service,” he added.
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Fast forward to today. Jio, India’s largest telecoms operator, is set to sign a contract at Nokia’s Headquarters in Helsinki, Finland, according to sources speaking to the Economic Times.
The purchase will be financed by several global banks, including HSBC, Citigroup, and JP Morgan, whose combined loans will total around $4 billion. Finnish state-owned export credit agency Finnvera is set to issue guarantees to the lenders. Representatives from the banks are likely to be present at the signing, as well as Senior Executives from Reliance Group.
At the time, financial details of the deals were not disclosed; however, media reports have since suggested that the deal with Ericsson was worth $2.1 billion. Now, this deal with Nokia will see the total 5G investment reach roughly $3.6 billion.
Earlier this year, Jio’s president Mathew Oommen said the company aimed to become “the largest 5G SA (standalone) only network operator in the world in the second half of 2023”, with the company targeting nationwide coverage by the end of the year.
In October 2022, Jio signed 5G equipment contracts with both Nokia and Ericsson.
In related news, earlier this week, Reliance Industries announced the launch of a budget 4G phone, (costing $12), aiming to convert the 250 million 2G users in India to 4G. The company says its goal is to pass the benefits of the internet-capable mobile technology to every Indian.
References:
https://totaltele.com/indias-jio-to-sign-1-5-billion-5g-equipment-deal-with-nokia/
Reliance Jio’s “Home Grown” 5G? Ericsson and Nokia in multi-year deals with Jio to build a mega 5G network
Reliance Jio claim: Complete 5G solution from scratch with 100% home grown technologies
Jio’s past claims and announcements amount to BS beyond belief. Jio’s past statements were likely tactics to get tne best possible deal with its targeted vendors. They now have ZERO credibility!
I don’t think you know what you are talking about regarding Jio.
Hello pikabot,
I happen to agree with the facts and substance of this IEEE Techblog article. It is hard to dispute anything in the article. The comments by “Anonymous” amplifies the sentiments expressed in the original article. If you wish to make a meaningful contribution beyond, “I don’t think you know what you are talking about regarding Jio.”, then I suggest you counter the article and show the blog readers what you substantively refute! Fair!!
Obviously, I agree with Basant. There are two huge 5G failures in India:
1. No 5G service provider has deployed the ITU-R M.2150 5Gi standard
2. There is no “home grown 5G” as Jio CEO Mukesh Ambani has promised for years
Case closed!