NEW DELHI: The India Air Force has decided to upgrade its dedicated cellular network, Air Force Cellular (AFCEL), from 3G Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) technology to 4GLTE/5G NSA.
AFCEL network is part of the IAF’s critical information infrastructure which is integral to its network-centric operational capability. The existing 3G WCDMA network equipment of the IAF is reaching obsolescence and is scheduled to reach ‘end of life’ by February 2022.
Accordingly, in order to ensure that operational readiness of IAF does not get compromised, a request for proposal (RFP) was floated to acquire the desired operational capability within one year. Giving paramount importance to confidentiality of the network design and its architecture, the IAF issued the RFP only to public sector undertakings (PSUs). The idea was “to limit proliferation of sensitive information/ encryption used by defence services.’’
Before floating the RFP, however, the IAF held detailed discussion with India’s prominent private cellular original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) who were asked to make presentations. According to IAF, the Indian OEMs who participated did not present a prototype of a complete end-to-end solution. The work was, therefore, awarded to public sector company ITI Ltd.
The drafting of the IAF tender and its award to ITI Ltd has caused a furore in local telecom industry circles. Private telecom equipment manufacturers of India have registered strong protest not only with the IAF, but also with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
They said the tender was rushed through in the name of urgency and security concerns. Private Indian manufacturers were not given ample opportunity to participate as the RFP was not available on IAF website nor was it made available on government e-marketplace (GeM).
They said the ITI Ltd that was awarded the work was also not capable of providing end-to-end solution on its own, and would have to involve other manufacturers. The ITI, they said, is a system integrator. Given the opportunity, private Indian telecom OEMs could have joined hands to provide the end-to-end solution the IAF needed. They pointed out that the BSNL had come out with a similar tender and the private Indian telecom OEMs had successfully participated in it by acting as system integrator.
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Indian OEMs have objected to IA F referring to the job it needed done as network “upgradation & expansion”. This, they said, was misleading as the 3G technology is not upgradable or migratable to 4G/5G. They said IA F wanted to set up a new network.
This is evident from a clause in the RFP where IAF asks bidders to be ready to buy back its existing equipment. These and other objections were raised on behalf of Indian OEMs by the Telecom Equipment and Services Export Promotion Council (TEPC), which is a government body, and the Telecom Equipment Manufacturers’Association (TEMA) in letters to IA F and the PM.
Seeking Modi’s intervention to get the IAF tender redrafted and refloated, TEMA told him “3G technology can’t be upgraded or migrated to 4GLTE/5G technology that is based on 3GPP standards. This is a technical reality and hence RFP nomenclature of “Upgradation and Expansion” is misrepresentation and obfuscation — an attempt to circumvent government guidelines of PPP-MII (Make in India) to bring in foreign equipment through obfuscation.” TEMA is worried the IA F tender would set a precedent that could be followed by other networks of Army, Railways, ONGC and private operators.
This would be a blow to Indian telecom equipment manufacturers. IAF, however, has rejected objections and sealed its deal with ITI Ltd. Countering the charges over nomenclature of the tender, IA F said, “The project aims to upgrade AFCEL network to 4GLTE/5G which is working on 3G CDMA technology and provide gap-free coverage within IAF stations.”
OEM point
RFP is neither available on IAF website nor on GeM
RFP seems to be tailor made for foreign OEMs who will be able to meet the eligibility conditions and technical requirements
Winning PSU does not own technology. It will have to procure 4G equipment from foreign OEMs as Indian OEMs are ineligible to participate
For BSNL’s upgrade, domestic OEMs got to participate
IAF counterpoint
Not published for security reasons to avoid visibility of system specifications and network architecture
No. It says, “Any bidder from a country which shares a land border with India will be eligible to bid in this tender only if the bidder is registered with the Competent Authority”
Chosen DPSU/ PSUs have proven experience in handling large projects. They have research labs and capabilities to develop, customise, encrypt and integrate defence communication systems with multiple existing weapons platforms and sensors
RFP issued to Indian PSUs, which can select OEM. No curbs on participation of any Indian OEM through PSU