CXOToday has engaged in an exclusive interview with Mr. Jitendra Balakrishnan, CTO, Optical Solutions, STL
- What are your views on the initial progress of the 5G rollout in India? What are the major factors to ensure a successful penetration of the 5G ecosystem in India?
We are seeing a massive push across the globe to lay down telecom infrastructure, and India is no exception. India’s much awaited 5G roll-out has started and will strongly hinge on fibre with telcos planning to lay ~2,00,000 cable kilometers and spend between ~$1.5 Bn to $2.5 Bn[1] on fibre roll-out in next 2 to 3 years. It has been shown that telecom networks are critical to the economy and economic growth. Historically, India has had a telecommunications network based on copper cables, and we still have a much lower penetration of optical fibre than many developed and developing countries. Hence, India is investing aggressively in optical fibre networks, which are essential for modern telecommunications. We have a population which is enthusiastically embracing digital technologies, a telco ecosystem that serves this market, home-grown companies that are developing the entire telecom stack, investments from network creators, and an emerging policy framework that is tying this all together. It is a positive scenario for how we see telecom growth in India.
STL is one of a handful of companies across the globe with an end-to-end manufacturing capability of optical fibre, optical cables, and optical interconnects. We are now prominent at the forefront of global innovation in this industry and have installed manufacturing capacities that can serve the needs of India along with a strong export market. We are a global company that has emerged from its Indian roots, and have strong local teams in tech, sales, and manufacturing across the globe.
Many of the actions needed are not just in the technology space, but in public policy and economic decisions. Here are some examples:
- Supporting local industry and ecosystems – Today, the presence of a full telecom technology stack in India provides a significant advantage, and STL is proud to play an anchoring role in the optical network side (i.e., optical fibre, optical cable and interconnects). Campaigns like Make in India are a great start, and we can push it much further by enabling a manufacturing-friendly environment (e.g., clean, green, reliable power, or trade barriers against anti-competitive practices like dumping). There has been a similar push from the government on the start-up ecosystem, which is creating some very interesting ideas – there is a lot of work to be done to support this ecosystem.
- National policies that enable futuristic telecom networks – India has a robust telecom policy and there is always much to be done in such a dynamic field. Some examples include infrastructure-sharing that allow telcos to access more customers with a healthy competition for subscribers, or regulating telecom as a utility (like power, water or sewage) that can enable better network rollouts. To illustrate the last example, we see far more cable cuts in India than other parts of the world due to uncoordinated network deployment, digging for roads and so on. This creates a sub-optimal network that needs frequent repairs, and it is also hard to invest in a long-term, high-quality network unless it can be protected as a utility.
- Enabling a high-quality low-cost network – India already has one of the lowest data rates in the world, and this is a great thing for consumers. However, it may also lead to an inability of telcos to invest in networks. The high cost of spectrum combined with low ARPUs ranging from INR 130 to INR 170 leaves relatively little to pour into physical infrastructure, as seen by the relatively lackluster 3G (and even 4G roll-outs). For 5G networks, we will need a lot of investment in physical infrastructure, and we need to figure out how to make this affordable for telecom providers without loading consumers with high costs.
2. Do you believe that India is prepared to meet its current fibre demand? What is STL’s contribution to the ecosystem?
Indian OFC consumption is predicted to increase to 33 million fkm by 2026, up from 17 million fkm in 2021. In terms of backhaul fiberization, India has 33% of towers with fibre connectivity, which needs to be increased to at least 80%. This is one of the big demand drivers for fibre. Anticipating this demand, we have been ramping up our capacities since the past few quarters. We increased fibre capacity from 30 mn to 50 mn fkm and cable capacity from 18 to 33 mn fkm recently. We had further announced an increase from 33 to 42 mn fkm last year and efforts are underway. STL is in a good position to meet the rising demand. Leveraging our experience of working closely with leading Telcos across the industry and our expertise in network deployment, we introduced products like 5G Cosmos, Gram Galaxy, Stellar, Celesta, Optical interconnect and Lead 360 and expanded our capabilities in converged networks based on optical fibre broadband. We have created a distinct competitive edge in the optical market with optical fibre, cable, and optical interconnect. They can benefit from these solutions because they enable quick network deployment and lower total network deployment costs. Our focus on R&D enabled us to have 742 patents in the last decade covering optical connectivity, network services and cloud native fixed and wireless access solutions.
3. Could you tell us about STL’s existing manufacturing facilities?
We are one of India’s largest optical cable manufacturers and systems integrators, and amongst the top optical players in the world with a strong global presence. We have 8 global production facilities in India, US, Italy, China, and Brazil to meet the global optical fibre demands. We have an upcoming manufacturing facility in South Carolina, US, making optical cable and meeting the market demands. We are proud to share that 100% of our India manufacturing facilities are now Zero Liquid Discharge and Zero Waste to Landfill.
4. How will STL utilise its India expertise for a sustainable 5g ecosystem globally?
The response of modern businesses to sustainability should be multidimensional in approach, pluralistic in sentiment, and exceptionally creative in the application. As a company, we believe that our networks should not only be advanced but also be environmentally sustainable and green. As industry captains and technology leaders, we took it to our heart, and we have been working tirelessly towards a greener future. Earlier this year, we announced our commitment to become a carbon-neutral company by 2030. We are also Zero Waste to Landfill certified (India & global operations) and Zero Liquid Discharge certified (India operations).
In addition to transitioning to renewables, STL also focuses on reducing energy consumption. This is done through optimized HVAC systems, Variable Frequency Drives (VFD) to control the speed of equipment, and lighting solutions with motion sensors that helped avoid 7,500+ tCO2e within one financial year.
STL has pioneered industry efforts by collaborating with state and local governments, NGOs, NPOs, communities and its employees to build water-resilient communities, promoting low-carbon agricultural practices, protect biodiversity, and create environmental-friendly livelihood opportunities.
Apart from being truly sustainable, we have rich experience in large-scale system integration projects under challenging topographies and an understanding of how digital technology can transform lives. We have deployed 50000 kms of fibre in rugged terrains in rural India as well as global locations. We have built the Indian Army’s fibre network in the toughest terrains of Jammu and Kashmir. We are also working with the Indian Navy to establish an ultra-modern, highly secure and seamlessly integrated naval network covering mainland to islands including Andaman Nicobar & Lakshadweep.
5. Based on your knowledge of other countries, which policies or initiatives do you believe India should adopt from other developed nations?
While India is driving its 5G rollout across the country, other countries like China, US and Korea began its 5G deployment a few years ago. Although, it is to say the 5G rollout in India is much more aggressive than other countries and should put India as one of the largest cases of 5G deployments in the world in the upcoming years. Even so, there are specifics on the 5G roadmap that India can adopt from other nations in order to deploy and commercialise 5G:
Data Localization: There are many countries, including China, Russia, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Vietnam, that have implemented tough rules around data localization. There is an urgent need for leveraging India’s data for its development. Information linked to critical and sensitive personal data along with health, payment and banking must mandatorily be stored within the country and efforts should be made to develop India as a preferred destination for data processing. This should be facilitated by having a policy of localization of infrastructure and promoting investment in data centres, servers etc. Data localisation will enable the better exercise of privacy rights by Indian citizens against any form of unauthorised access to data, including by foreign intelligence. More importantly, data localisation will drive data centres growth in India which will result in more job creation
Comprehensive Policy Planning to Promote Domestic Manufacturing: In absence of a comprehensive government framework to boost domestic telecom manufacturing, small cell Technology giant, Google’s data centres, generated $ 1.3 billion in economic activity, provided 11k jobs throughout the United States, and generated $750 million in labour income. The increase in penetration of digital payments, deployment of big data has pushed many companies for data localization and thereby backing business opportunities for the local communities, increasing revenue, and economic growth of a nation. Manufacturing in India continues to be minimal and most of the companies are engaged in designing and very few are engaged in manufacturing. Insufficient govt. funding to boost R&D and lack of fiscal support (both capital availability and incentive structure) make it difficult for Indian players to flourish and compete with global multinationals. Hence it is important to draw a detailed policy roadmap jointly with the ministry and stakeholders to achieve self-reliance. China has followed such a strategy called ‘Make in China 2025’ policy, which paved the roadmap to shift China from being a low-end manufacturer to becoming a high-end producer of goods. The policy focused on all key aspects of strengthening local manufacturing, starting from promoting investment till acquiring new markets through financial support and ease of doing business.
Achieving self-reliance and championing domestic manufacturing: It is well known that the Indian hi-tech industry has the capabilities and skill sets to achieve self-reliance and transform India into a global manufacturing hub. India’s self-dependency in telecom equipment can be achieved through a comprehensive long-term policy framework in discussion with all the stakeholders to create a conducive economic environment and financial infrastructure to support the domestic ecosystem. All the countries (China, USA, Germany, Taiwan) who have successfully built domestic manufacturing champions, have built comprehensive long term policies with defined responsibility matrix and timeline.
