Jio is seeking to attract firms across automobile, healthcare, manufacturing and other industries to develop possible use cases of 5G
Indian operator Reliance Jio is said to be in negotiations with U.S. company Tesla for the deployment of a private 5G network for the latter’s manufacturing plant in India, according to local press reports.
The reports noted that the electric vehicle manufacturer is seeking to get the permit to set up its first manufacturing location in India. As part of these discussions, Reliance Jio Infocomm has allegedly offered Tesla to set up a 5G private network for its future manufacturing facility in the Asian nation. The network is expected to support connected car solutions and automated production processes.
The reports suggested that Jio is in early talks with Tesla for the setup of the private network. “The talks between Jio and Tesla are at a preliminary stage, and any further developments are expected only when the latter firms up its plans for setting up a manufacturing unit in India,” a source with knowledge of the matter reportedly said.
The report also revealed that Jio is seeking to attract firms across automobile, healthcare, manufacturing and other industries to develop possible use cases of 5G, offering to build and manage their private networks.
In December 2022, rival operator Bharti Airtel announced a partnership with Indian company Tech Mahindra to set up a private 5G network at Mahindra’s Chakan facility. With this collaboration, the Chakan facility became the first 5G-enabled manufacturing unit in India.
Reliance Jio Infocomm has already deployed its 5G service in 4,786 towns and cities across 36 states in India, according to the carrier’s website.
Reliance Jio has already deployed over 50,000 base stations and 300,000 cells to support its 5G service, according to recent press reports.
The carrier’s CTO, Shyam Mardikar, recently said that the company expected to complete full urban coverage before the end of May.
Jio started to deploy its 5G Standalone (SA) network in October 2022 and has recently stated that it is on track to cover all towns and cities by December 2023. The telco had initially launched the beta trial of its 5G services in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Varanasi.
Jio is offering the 5G connectivity on an invitational basis, with users living in 5G-enabled cities who have 5G compatible smartphones receiving invitations.
Last year, Reliance Jio Infocomm announced 5G contracts with Nordic vendors Ericsson and Nokia. The deal with Ericsson marks the first partnership between Jio and Ericsson for radio access network deployment in the country.
