Reliance Jio likely to setup private 5G network for first Tesla factory in India

By Divya BhatiReliance Jio is said to be in discussions with Tesla to build a private 5G network setup for the company’s manufacturing plant. Reportedly, the Elon Musk-led electric vehicle manufacturer is trying to get the green signal to set up its first manufacturing base in India. Amidst all the talks, it is now said that Jio has offered to set up a private 5G network for Tesla’s proposed manufacturing plant in India. The private 5G network would handle essential operations around the manufacturing plant at high speeds and support connected car solutions and automated production processes.

A report by Financial Express suggests that the Mukesh Ambani-headed telco is in early talks with Tesla for the setup of the private network, and further progress will only happen if Tesla finalizes its plans to set up a manufacturing plant in the country. “The talks between Jio and Tesla are at a preliminary stage, and any further developments are expected only when the latter firms up its plans for setting up a manufacturing unit in India,” an unnamed industry source revealed to the publication.

The report suggests that Jio is also reaching out to firms across automobile, healthcare, manufacturing, and other industries with possible use cases of 5G, offering to build and manage their private networks. The captive private 5G network setup from the telco will help these firms achieve high data speed and data carrying capacity within their premises, which is not possible if they depend on public networks. Notably, the private 5G solutions will also help industries benefit from the next technological advancement – Industry 4.0 – a new technology wave that is said to revolutionize the way companies manufacture, improve, and distribute their products.

Well, Jio is not the first telco seeking opportunities with companies to build private 5G network setups. Earlier, in December 2022, Jio’s rival Airtel announced its partnership with Tech Mahindra to set up 5G for the enterprise solution at Mahindra and Mahindra’s Chakan facility. With this collaboration, the Chakan facility became the first 5G-enabled auto manufacturing unit in India.

Now, with Jio trying to seize the opportunity to set up a private 5G network for Tesla, there will be intense momentum in the race among telcos and companies themselves to set up private networks to improve their operations.

However, Jio’s plans related to Tesla are currently awaiting Tesla’s confirmation of its plans for establishing a manufacturing unit in the country. A report by Reuters revealed that Tesla officials recently visited India to discuss the plan regarding setting up manufacturing in India with Indian officials. The officials discussed the incentives for car and battery manufacturing with the Indian officials.

It is worth noting that companies are not dependable on big telecom players for private network establishment. The government allows companies to buy spectrum and set up their own Wi-Fi and data network instead of relying on telecom services to get the network. Through this, the companies have more flexibility and control over their networks. However, telcos are not pleased with the flexibility and are opposing it. They say this will give technology companies an unfair advantage and make it difficult for telecom companies to compete.