5g to drive Requirement for network Convergence’

—Sanjay krishnaa Sr VP, Communications BU and President, APAC, Cyient

Cyient is at the forefront of installation of small cells both in India and globally. In an interaction with Voice&Data, Sanjay Krishnaa, Sr VP, Communications BU and President, APAC, Cyient, shares his experience in network planning and designing in both wireline and wireless technologies

Voice&Data: After 3G and 4G, how is Cyient preparing for 5G wireless towers?

Sanjay Krishnaa: The hype around 5G is undeniable, but what we need to bear in mind is that 4G has not been implemented everywhere. It is worth noting that 4G requires fiber connection, while 5G does not. For 5G carriers just have to install fiber optics to a cell tower every few blocks, instead of a more labor-intensive approach of fiber rollouts. Cyient has been at the forefront of installation of small cells both in India and globally. Our experience in fixed and mobile convergence gives us the edge in network plan and design with domain experience in both wireline and wireless technologies.

Industry consensus is that 5G networks will opt for fiber as the preferred technology for backhaul and fronthaul, and 5G will drive the requirement for network convergence between wired and wireless traffic, increasing the requirement for fiber network solutions. Voice&Data: How is Cyient different in its services ranging from network planning and design to GIS?

Sanjay Krishnaa: Well, GIS forms the backbone of robust network planning and design. Europe and the US are far more advanced when it comes to managing landbase locally. You will be surprised that local government agencies in these countries have their own land base on which network planning and design both greenfield and brownfield is done for both utilities and communication industries. The approach to local landbase management in India is significantly different. Although the efforts are on, we are still not digitized and it will take more time and commitment from the local government agencies to digitize the entire landbase both under and above the ground.

Voice&Data: How do you see the needs of communication service providers getting changed and with that, what are the type of new technological offerings you are bringing in to the forefront?

Sanjay Krishnaa: The telecom industry is always at the forefront of disruptive technology—from 2G in the late 1990s, we are now talking about 5G. Our idea to approach this kind of disruption is by keeping things simple and building solutions on open source technology. We recognize that our clients are under constant pressure to reduce capital expenditure, build efficiencies, and focus on operational excellence.

Some of our solutions like, MIGRA framework and TeeM NG® can seamlessly translate, convert, and migrate data from legacy environments, satisfying both business and technical needs.

We have recently unveiled an IoTenabled Tower Operations Center (TOC) in Hyderabad. The TOC provides 24/7 surveillance and remotely monitors all passive assets in cell towers across multiple locations. It helps tower and infrastructure companies centralize realtime monitoring of alarms and manage key performance indicators of the critical passive infrastructure of cell sites. This solution has garnered a lot of interest in the CSP community in India and also globally. Voice&Data: What are some of the learnings from the network operator clients?

(India specific) Sanjay Krishnaa: We work with some of the leading companies across the globe and the learning is immense! From Cyient’s perspective, when we partner with CSPs we strive to become integral to their strategic roadmap. The focus is to continue to invest in building our partnership and taking it to the next level.

We believe some of the best innovations can happen when it is done jointly with the client and treating each other as partners and not just have a vendor-client relationship. Cyient strongly believes in walking together on the journey of co-creation and co-innovation to deliver cutting-edge results. Voice&Data: What are some of the challenges ahead for Cyient and the telecom industry?

Sanjay Krishnaa: Competition from OTT players is the number one challenge the industry faces. If you add the voice services provided on top of messaging apps, then the issue becomes much more significant. How do we address this? Well, by gearing up for an IoT revolution; shifting from connected devices to connected people.

The industry must relook at IoT as a technology for the masses and see how it not only is adopted but is integrated into our everyday lives. While CSPs are trying to add value and solve business problems for enterprises, when it comes to mass market, the value proposition is not compelling. IoT does not have apps with mass appeal yet. And it’s important that we change this dynamic if the industry has to thrive.