Girish Gupta,
senior vice-president and business head, APAR Telecom Solutions

APAR Telecom Solutions offers a range of new and future-ready fibre cabling solutions. In an interview with tele.net, Girish Gupta, senior vice-president and business head, APAR Telecom Solutions, talks about the company’s key offerings, plans for leveraging the 5G opportunity and future strategies…

What has been the progress in the country’s 5G roll-out? How has APAR Telecom Solutions leveraged the 5G opportunity over the past one year?

Within a year of launch, India’s 5G landscape has seen phenomenal penetration across 3,000 cities with more than 130 million 5G users.

At APAR Telecom Solutions, we have actively prepared for the upcoming 5G demand in both the telecom and power business verticals. We have allocated significant investments towards developing advanced solutions, ensuring we remain at the forefront of 5G and internet of things (IoT) During the past year, we have developed several solutions with one stand-out solution  — Giga-Volt — specifically designed for 5G, addressing the critical need for evolving network infrastructure, which has picked up pace in global markets.

What new products/solutions have you launched recently? Which are some of the products that are in the pipeline?

We are constantly innovating to stay ahead of the curve in the dynamic 5G landscape. Committed to global social responsibility towards the environment, we have launched eco-friendly products. Our recent product launches and products in the pipeline include:

  • Next-generation hybrid cables: The APAR Giga-Volt range of cables is a testimony to our capability to innovate next-gener­ation solutions, boasting higher data transmission along with the desired power to address the ever-increasing demands of 5G and IoT technologies.
  • Pre-connectorised solutions: APAR has launched pre-connectorised cable solutions, enabling expedited greener energy roll-out.

APAR has expanded its portfolio with a wide range of fibre optic cables designed specifically for diverse digital connectivity applications.

What are the challenges hampering the growth of India’s 5G ecosystem? How can these be addressed?

While India’s 5G journey has seen exciting progress, several challenges still hamper its full potential.

Financial burden with low ARPUs and limited use cases of 5G: To augment 5G growth, we need economies of scale with multiple use cases of 5G across industries for CSPs to invest continuously in infrastructure upgrades and network expansion to address the financial pressure owing to lower ARPUs.

Infrastructure gaps with limited fibre connectivity: Although DoT has amended the Indian Telegraph RoW Rules, providing a clear definition of street furniture and single-window clearance for telecom-related RoW applications for faster roll-out of 5G, we need a collaborative approach to bridge the gap from 35 per cent of tower fibre connectivity to the optimal 80 per cent needed for seamless 5G performance.

“APAR aims to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of India’s 5G ecosystem, contributing to a hyperconnected future that is greener, faster and cheaper for all.”

What are your future plans and strategies?

Our vision is to be the preferred partner for domestic and global clients by offering comprehensive passive infrastructure for 5G and IoT solutions that meet environmental, social and governance goals. the Key aspects of our plans and strategies are:

  • Focus on sustainability: Developing ecofriendly products with reduced environmental impact, aligning with the growing demand for sustainable practices in the telecom industry.
  • Talent acquisition and development: Committed to attracting and nurturing talent with skills and fostering an environment to drive innovation towards generative artificial intelligence-based manufacturing processes and systems.
  • Collaboration: APAR is actively involved in industry associations and forums, shaping the future of the 5G ecosystem with new sets of standards and solutions.
  • Next-generation solutions: We expect to see cutting-edge hybrid cables with integrated fibre and power solutions for simplified network management and rural-focused products to bridge the digital divide.
  • Contributing to social progress: APAR is committed to leveraging its expertise from different divisions to enable digital connectivity with greener solutions.

APAR aims to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of India’s 5G ecosystem, contributing to a hyperconnected future that is greener, faster and cheaper for all.