Jitendra Singh Chaudhary, executive president, communications, HFCL

Over the years, HFCL Limited has emerged as a trusted partner offering sustainable high-tech solutions, dedicated to providing its customers the latest technology products. In an interview with tele.net, Jitendra Singh Chaudhary, executive president, communi­catio­ns, HFCL, shares his views on recent and upcoming telecom trends, and the company’s latest products and solutions…

What have been the key trends in the Indian telecom space? What are the factors driving growth in the market?

At HFCL, we firmly believe that the telecom sector has played a vital role in contributing to India’s GDP over the past ­de­ca­de. Today, telecom is all about digitalisation. The current key trend in the industry is 5G, and we are witnessing one of the fastest 5G deployment processes in India to­day. We see immense potential in the use cases around 5G, which include both en­han­ced mobile broadband (eMBB) and fixed wireless access (FWA), as well as in ot­h­er sectors such as agriculture, tele­me­dici­ne, education, and Industry 4.0. We are co­n­fident that these factors have a lot of pot­ential, which will drive growth in the coming years, and we are eagerly looking forward to it.

What kind of innovative products and solutions is HFCL working on?

Whether it is 5G or other digital technologies, HFCL is a focused company, and we are continuously working to build on our strengths. We are one of the largest infrastructure providers in the field of optical fibre cable. Over the past few years, our focus has been on driving innovation in selected areas, and we have chosen to focus on the access side of the network. For instance, in the 5G space, we are ex­plo­ring opportunities in 5G FWA custo­mer premises equipment (CPE). We believe that after eMBB, FWA will emerge as the biggest game changer. Moreover, FWA is gaining momentum as a global trend. To this end, we have launched a product called 5G FWA CPE at the India Mobile Congress 2023.

Furthermore, our focus extends to the transport side of the network, specifically the internet protocol (IP) network. We have launched next-gen IP/multiprotocol label switching routers that are designed to significantly boost network performan­ce. Additionally, we are leveraging our ex­pertise in the Wi-Fi, point-to-point, poi­nt-to-multipoint connectivity, and unlicensed band radio (UBR) space. We are also developing advanced network switches, which we believe is a very specialised and focused area. HFCL is one of the few Indian companies with an extensive portfolio, capable of designing, developing, ma­nufacturing products in India, and exporting them as well.

What are your thoughts on India’s expanding 5G ecosystem? How is HFCL leveraging opportunities in this space?

5G technology is present today, and it will continue to gain traction in the future. Common use cases extend beyond mobile broadband and mobility; they include other low-latency applications, such as FWA and Industry 4.0. Moreover, 5G will play a major role in industries such as mining, logistics and manufacturing. To ensure that these use cases are delivered, certain types of equipment and solutions are required. At HFCL, our focus is on use cases such as FWA and Industry 4.0. To that end, we provide products and solutions that are pre-integrated and pre-tested. We operate in the telecom industry by directly working with operators or enterprises, integrating our Wi-Fi and router switches into their sy­stems. Therefore, we believe that 5G use cases will have a significant impact and play a crucial role in the future.

What future trends do you foresee in the Indian telecom market?

Going forward, the next big thing is 6G technology. HFCL is proud to be a member of the Bharat 6G Alliance, which was established to drive the development of this cutting-edge technology. Although it will take some time to arrive, we believe that 6G will take mobile technology to the next level. From the perspective of access connectivity, we believe that Wi-Fi 7 will be a game changer. Over the next two ye­ars, we expect to see significant growth in the adoption of Wi-Fi, with Wi-Fi 7 playing a key role. Wi-Fi 7 is designed to add­ress challenges faced by the existing Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 6. At HFCL, we are working on Wi-Fi 7 products, which are still in the initial stages of development.

Looking ahead, we have many goals at HFCL. These include developing 5G Plus and 6G technologies, increasing our radio capacities, improving routing capabilities and expanding our optical fibre cable offerings. We are committed to staying ah­­ead of the curve, providing our custo­mers with cutting-edge products and solutions that meet their needs.