Vodafone Idea rips Huawei, ZTE from core; Samsung, Ericsson to replace Chinese 4G gear in metros

Vi Chinese vendors

There's nothing Chinese at the core, Vodafone Idea has assured the government, after eliminating technology from Huawei and ZTE from what is considered to be the brain of a telecom network.

The debt-laden telecom operator recently onboarded Samsung to replace Huawei and ZTE on deployment of its 4G services as part of its three-year capex plan. The telco has also awarded Ericsson a fresh deal to replace Huawei 4G equipment in metro cities like Delhi.

“We assured the government that we have moved away from Chinese technology in our core network. We have ensured that no Chinese technology is involved in the core, which is the brain of the network where all databases reside,” Jagbir Singh, chief technology officer at Vodafone Idea, told Moneycontrol in an interview.

Singh said network security issues are primarily tied to the core, not the transport or radio networks. “We've already replaced nearly all components with technology sourced from American or European suppliers.”

The telecom operator has also been consolidating the presence of Chinese vendors in its transport network for the last four years and is only sourcing Chinese parts for maintenance as needed without expanding their role.

He said the transport network functions as a simple conduit with no intelligence or database. “As for the radio network, we continue to replace any end-of-life or unsupported equipment and have given expansion of 4G and 4G rollout mandate to Samsung and Ericsson,” Singh said.

On Samsung’s selection over OpenRAN vendor Mavenir, the executive said the South Korean vendor’s vRAN-based 4G is a mature technology. “Reliance Jio’s 100 percent network was deployed by Samsung. So, for 4G, there was no doubt about quality. And, for 5G, even Airtel is using Samsung now. If the vendor has a good volume in the country, everyone will get good support. That is one criterion,” he said.

He said that OpenRAN is still a technology which has not matured to the level of technology provided by traditional vendors like Nokia and Ericsson. “From a total cost of ownership, vRAN is much better than any ORAN vendor.”

He shared that the telco has also furnished the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) with all details about its network, including hardware and software. Earlier this year, the DoT asked telecom operators to evaluate the extent of their legacy network equipment sourced from "non-trusted sources" and send a detailed assessment report, including software and hardware deployed, since they started operations in the country.

Through this assessment, the DoT aims to understand the potential costs involved in replacing such legacy equipment with new equipment procured from "trusted sources" to enhance national security in the future.

Singh said that Vodafone Idea will be ready to completely remove Chinese technology from its network if the government decides to replicate in India the 'rip and replace' program implemented in the United States. The US government provided funds to reimburse telecom companies for replacing equipment that was considered a national security risk.