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NEW DELHI: Homegrown fibre cable and radio components maker HFCL<\/a> is looking to double its export on the back of its growing Wi-Fi access points and backhaul radio business. The company is also expanding its optic fibre cable<\/a> (OFC) production capacity to 22 fiber kilometres per annum. In an interaction with ETTelecom’s Muntazir Abbas, Mahendra Nahata, founder & managing director, HFCL<\/strong> speaks on 5G-led demand, data centre business, design-led production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, BBNL-BSNL merger, and order book. Edited excerpts:<\/em>
How HFCL as a domestic player is aligning its strategy with 5G<\/a> technology?
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We are designing a lot of new equipment which are mostly directed towards 5G – macro cell 8T8R, 5G small cell- both indoor and outdoor; in the outdoors we have 4T4R- to fill in the coverage holes that are often present. In Indoor, we have 2T2R to give better coverage indoors. Then we are also designing fixed wireless access which provides fiber-like connectivity on wireless when using the 5G network<\/a> where FTTH can't reach or in places where FTTH is much more expensive, those places can benefit a lot from FWA. There is a high demand for the same worldwide, and we are designing that. These are the radio equipment we are designing for 5G network.
Where are you designing these products?
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This is all being done in India in Bangalore, Delhi, and Gurgaon. We have our own people and some of the R&D has been given on contract to others, who are designing for us. We have our own IPR for such things. We are also designing cell site routers, which will be found at every cell site. Then we have aggregation and centralized routers, which are all required in 5G networks. We are also working on switches which can work across the private networks and public networks. So, these are some of the equipment we are designing which are directed towards the 5G network and other networks also. We see a massive demand coming up for this equipment not only in India, but also abroad. Export is another thing which we are working to seriously push out products in the export market.
Other products which we have worked on are Wi-Fi systems, access points and backhaul radios. We have been working towards this and have already sold around 5 lakh Wi-Fi access points and backhaul radios, in the last 1.5 years. We will also start to export these soon. Demand has already started to come in, and we will start exporting by this quarter.
The telecom department has come out with a design-led production-linked incentive scheme. Your views?
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We have also applied for the DLI scheme by the Indian government where we expect by the end of this year, we will receive the approval. We have made an investment of about Rs 450 crores in the DLI scheme. We have to set up a new manufacturing and design facility under this scheme.