Indian Army Introduces First-Ever Indigenous Chip-Based 4G Base Station Made in India by Signaltron, ET Telecom

The Indian Army has inducted the first-ever indigenous chip-based 4G base station, which it acquired from Bengaluru-based Signaltron through the government’s e-marketplace, a senior company official said. Signaltron founder Himamshu Khasnis told PTI that the chip used in Sahyadri LTE base stations was developed by Signalchip.

In early 2010, Khasnis and his team founded Signalchip, a company that produces integrated circuits for 4G and 5G networks.

“Signaltron has built the entire system indigenously, using India’s first 4G and 5G chips developed by Signalchip. This is the first time an Indian system running on an Indian chip for complex communications technology has been inducted into the military. The use of indigenous chips ensures a high degree of control over the security of the system during its operation,” Khasnis said.

He added that the Indian Army had submitted a bid to GeM (Government e-Marketplace) last year for the supply of 4G LTE NIB (Network In a Box) solution.

“Signaltron proposed the Sahyadri NIB solution and successfully passed rigorous technical tests. Signaltron also won a competitive tender for the equipment supply. Weighing just 7 kg, the Sahyadri Network In a Box (NIB) systems provide high-quality, secure wireless communication for audio, video and data applications,” Khasnis said.

He said Sahyadri NIB can operate in both standalone and cellular modes and can seamlessly interoperate with legacy analog and IP telephony systems.

Most of the base stations deployed in India are not manufactured in India. Even the few that are manufactured in India do not have indigenous chips inside, which are the most strategic and important element of modern electronic devices and equipment.

Signaltron has provided 20 units to the army, and the placement of the base stations depends on their strategic needs, Khasnis said.

“We delivered 20 units to the army. The army decides when and where to deploy the base station. Since these are light and mobile units, it gives them the flexibility to change locations as per their requirements,” he added.

There is currently no manufacturing facility in India for modern semiconductor chips. Signalchip designed the chip locally and owns all the technology that powers the chips. In a model similar to leading semiconductor companies like Nvidia, Qualcomm, Mediatek, etc., Signalchip also outsources its chip manufacturing to third-party wafer fabs.

Khasnis said the Indian base station market is estimated to reach around $24 billion by 2029.

“By using native systems, significant savings could be achieved on the forex market, as well as increasing GDP. There are significant market volumes available in India and around the world. The modernization goals of various sectors such as defense, railways, etc. provide a golden opportunity for indigenous solutions,” he said.

Khasnis said the global CNPN (Captive Network-Private Network) 4G/5G market is estimated to exceed USD 30 billion by 2030, which will create huge opportunities for local chip-based base stations, thereby providing economies of scale.