Cisco said the move will drive over $1 billion in combined domestic production and exports in the coming years
Cisco announced that it will start manufacturing in India, as part of its plans to expand its footprint in the Asian nation. In a statement, the U.S. company noted that the move will drive more than $1 billion in combined domestic production and exports in the coming years.
“We are announcing strategic investments in Indian manufacturing capabilities as the next step in delivering cutting-edge technologies to our customers in India and across the globe,” said Chuck Robbins, chair and CEO of Cisco. “Fueled by a rapidly developing digital economy, India is a focal point of innovation and business for Cisco, and we remain deeply committed to our partnerships here.”
Cisco noted that it is now building core manufacturing capabilities in India, including testing, development and logistics and expanding in-house repair operations.
“India is of strategic importance for Cisco, and we continue to bet on India. This announcement marks a significant milestone to power the next phase of growth for Cisco. This investment will enable us to bring state-of-the-art technologies to more people and businesses and help accelerate India’s transition into a leading digital economy,” said Daisy Chittilapilly, president of Cisco India.
Cisco also said that India is currently the company’s second largest R&D center outside the U.S.
Cisco is working with telecom operators in India for the monetization of 5G use cases, primarily private 5G as a service model, according to a recent report by local newspaper The Economic Times.
“We see the 5G rollout taking place at a very rapid pace with both service providers Reliance Jio Infocomm and Bharti Airtel. We are also working with them to see what more we can do in the area of monetization of the use cases, especially around private 5G as a service model,” said Anand Bhaskar, managing director of the service providers business unit at Cisco India.
“The uptake of 5G private networks will be based on use cases. You need to have a use case which will determine an enterprise to have a spectrum, build the network and be able to monetize that,” Bhaskar added.
The executive also noted that the initial use cases and trials are starting to emerge but added that it will take time to see major 5G private network deployments in the Indian market. “It will take some time as we see what will work with the customers or with the service providers,” he said.
“We are seeing use cases [for private networks] in large mines, large open areas, which need to be networked and connected,” said Bhaskar.
The executive said that enterprises need to define the economic model and the monetization model in order to determine how much they can pay in the auction for the spectrum.”
Cisco is open to working with both the operators and the enterprises on the rollout of private 5G networks, depending on the rules set by the government, said Bhaskar.
