What’s up with… Jio Platforms, telco AI, Open RAN

• Jio and friends to develop Open Telco AI Platform
• Global Telco AI Alliance calls for industry collaboration
• Indonesia to get Open RAN network for 5G FWA

In today’s industry news roundup: Jio Platforms has teamed up with AMD, Cisco and Nokia to develop a multi-domain network intelligence layer; the Global Telco AI Alliance wants more friends; Orex Sai is to work with fibre backbone player Surge in Indonesia to build out an Open RAN network to provision 5G fixed wireless access services; and much more!

India’s Jio Platforms, which comprises multiple digital platforms and assets, including mobile service provider giant Reliance Jio, has teamed up with Cisco, Nokia and chip vendor AMD to develop an Open Telecom AI Platform to “redefine telecom operations with cutting-edge AI integration”. The new group will develop what it calls a new central, multi-domain intelligence layer for telecom and digital services that will be large language model (LLM) agnostic, use open APIs to optimise its functionality and capabilities, and integrate “AI and automation into every layer of network operations”, noted Jio Platforms. The AI platform will harness agentic AI, leverage LLMs, domain-specific small language models (SLMs), and non-GenAI machine learning techniques. “By harnessing agentic AI across all telco layers, we are building a multimodal, multidomain orchestrated workflow platform that redefines efficiency, intelligence and security for the telecom industry,” stated Mathew Oommen, group CEO at Reliance Jio. “In collaboration with AMD, Cisco and Nokia, Jio is advancing the Open Telecom AI Platform to transform networks into self-optimising, customer-aware ecosystems. This initiative goes beyond automation – it’s about enabling AI-driven, autonomous networks that adapt in real time, enhance user experiences, and create new service and revenue opportunities across the digital ecosystem.”

The announcement came as the founders of the Global Telco AI Alliance, which is working to develop a telco-specific LLM, met in Barcelona this week to discuss its latest developments. Representatives from the telco stakeholders – SK Telecom, Deutsche Telekom, e&, Singtel and SoftBank – jointly appealed for collaboration with AI tech giants and policymakers, and issued a plea for more telcos to get involved with the alliance’s work. But there was no major update from the group, which formed a joint venture last year – unveiling the alliance’s logo appeared to be its most tangible development shared during its MWC25 meeting. 

And back with Jio and Cisco…. Reliance Jio, which ended 2024 with more than 170 million 5G customers, more than one-third of its total user base of 482 million, is one of the early adopters of Cisco’s Agile Services Networking. According to the vendor, this network architecture “combines high-speed, feature-rich Silicon One routing, a unified software experience, and converged IP and optics within a single, seamless network” in a way that helps network operators to discover new ways to “monetise the services needed to compete in the AI marketplace”. At MWC25, Cisco announced two additions to the Agile Services Networking portfolio – namely ThousandEyes Connected Devices and Provider Connectivity Assurance – “that deliver real-time visibility into both on-network and off-network connectivity for true end-to-end assurance. Combined, these solutions enable visibility from home- and mobile-connected users through to service provider core networks and off-net cloud-delivered services,” added Cisco. 

In Indonesia, Orex Sai, the Open RAN joint venture between Japan’s NTT Docomo and NEC, has struck a deal with digital infrastructure player Surge to build a 5G Open RAN network designed specifically to deliver fixed wireless access (FWA) broadband services to unconnected and underserved areas of the archipelago nation. Indonesia has a population of more than 280 million, many of whom cannot be reached by traditional fixed broadband connections. Surge, which runs a fibre backbone network in Indonesia, will work with Orex to enable a field trial later this year, start commercial operations next year and ultimately deploy more than 20,000 FWA radio access sites by 2030, which could reach more than 40% of the country’s population. 

Aduna, the network APIs joint venture that was founded last year by Ericsson and a dozen major operators, has added two more key French telcos – Bouygues Telecom and Free (Iliad Group) – as network partners: France’s national telco, Orange, is one of the Aduna founders. “The strategic partnership marks a major step in unlocking new digital innovation opportunities across industries in France and beyond,” stated Aduna in this announcement. The first two network APIs, SIM Swap and KYC (Know Your Customer), are set to be launched in France in Spring 2025, after the agreements with Bouygues and Free are finalised. Chrystel Abadie Truchet, head of strategy, communication and development at Bouygues Telecom, stated: “French major network operators joining forces with Aduna to launch network APIs is a major step in unlocking new digital innovation opportunities across industries in France and beyond. Bouygues Telecom is proud to be part of this project with other market leaders such as Free and Orange, and we believe this strategic partnership holds immense potential for driving digital transformation in France and abroad.” Rui Frazao, CTO at Free, added: “The partnership with Aduna is in line with Iliad Group’s strategy to democratise and accelerate the adoption of 5G standalone (SA) and network APIs by making them accessible to developers and service providers worldwide.”

German operator O2 Telefónica has entered into a strategic partnership with Google Cloud to “drive the cloud transformation of O2 Telefonica’s 5G network” in a process that will also heavily involve Nokia. Following their successful cooperation on charging solutions for mobile customers, O2 Telefónica now plans to expand its collaboration and migrate additional 5G functions, such as Nokia’s Policy Control Functions, to Google Cloud. “Using Google Cloud’s modern infrastructure, this partnership is going to enable O2 Telefónica to accelerate the deployment of cloud-native 5G functions and telecom workloads, delivering resilient, high-performance 5G services with lower latency and higher reliability for its customers,” noted the hyperscaler in this announcement. Mallik Rao, chief technology and enterprise business officer at O2 Telefónica, noted: “We are building the mobile network of the future and now are taking the next innovative step by bringing further network functions and telecom workloads to the cloud. This work with Google Cloud and Nokia is a significant step in O2 Telefónica’s technology transformation. We have already gained valuable experience with Google Cloud and are now extending this collaboration. By embracing cloud-native solutions, we are modernising our network to deliver the next generation of 5G services to our customers,” added Rao. 

In a jittery market, tech stocks took a battering on Monday in the US, with semiconductor companies such as Broadcom and Nvidia being hit the hardest. The stocks of these and other companies that do a lot of business with China fell in response to the confirmation that President Donald Trump is imposing heavy new tariffs not only on the People’s Republic but also on Canada and Mexico, America’s direct neighbours to the north and the south. Perhaps the Atlantic and Pacific oceans will be the next to be taxed, leaving the US boxed in as it pursues what is becoming an increasingly disruptive economic policy. The US administration having, last month, placed a 10% levy on Chinese imports, has imposed a second 10% charge, bringing the tariff up to 20%, while Canada and Mexico each get hammered with a 25% tariff rate. Overall, the S&P 500 index fell by 1.7% on Monday and, as this article is published, stocks globally are on the slide, with the oil and automotive industries hit particularly badly and various currencies coming under strain. Canada and China are ready to hit back against the US with retaliatory tariffs of their own and the auguries for technology stocks are bleak. So far this year, of US big tech companies, only Meta’s share price has actually risen. Meanwhile, Tesla’s share price has collapsed by 30%, and Apple’s is down 5%. Even Nvidia, until recently the darling of Wall Street, has seen 15% chipped off its share price since the start of the year but, given that its stock rose by 239% in 2023 and 171% in 2024, the losses, whilst appreciable, have as yet had no real impact on the company. But it’s early days in what could be a long trade war and, as Trump’s new tariffs bite, China and Canada are set to take immediate stringent reciprocal action against a suddenly determinedly protectionist US. Among other new charges, the Chinese government has placed 10% and 15% tariffs on US agricultural goods, including wheat, corn, beef and soyabeans. That will hit US farmers hard. China is America’s biggest market for agriculture exports. Mexico, meanwhile, has “contingency plans” in place that it will apply to US imports. It is certain that big tech stock prices will not be immune to global events and it seems likely they will be in for a very bumpy ride, with those likely to be hit the hardest being companies such as Microsoft and Alphabet (the parent company of Google) whose share price growth over the course of last year was far from stellar in comparison to the chip makers and are, therefore, starting from a more exposed base. Reaction to the new tariffs has been swift and vituperative. In a statement, Doug Ford, the prime minister of the Canadian Province of Ontario, commented, “I would cut off US energy ‘with a smile on my face.’” Canada exports sufficient electricity to power some six million US homes. It also imports electricity from the US (it’s a very big country) but exports far more than it imports and holds a very healthy $2bn trade surplus on the arrangement. The US also imports 99% of its natural gas from Canada as well as 4 million barrels of crude oil each and every day – that’s 20% of its entire crude oil requirement. Meanwhile, in China, Lin Jian, a senior spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry, told a press conference, “If the United States... persists in waging a tariff war, a trade war, or any other kind of war, the Chinese side will fight them to the bitter end.”

– The staff, TelecomTV