Telcos need to re-engineer networks to ensure security, says Airtel CTO

NEW DELHI: At a time when security has become the key focus area of telecom operators and equipment vendors, Airtel CTO Randeep Sekhon shared how re-engineering of networks is needed by means of adopting automation and digitization to build secure networks.

“Our telecom industry has evolved and changing the mindset of everyone to adopt digital and automation is the key now. A lot of DNA shift is happening and the ecosystem is growing,” said Sekhon while addressing ETTelecom’s India Mobile Conclave.

Hierarchies of organizations need to change to support digitization and automation, he added.


He further elaborated that core is where majority of the work is happening because it has to support 5G as well as other generations of technology.

“We at Airtel have a universal core which supports all (2G,3G,4G). It is ready to evolve to 5G while supporting all traditional technologies,” Sekhon said.

Talking about importance of automation, Sekhon added, that automation as a concept is new to telecom industry and is crucial to building future networks since telcos can’t afford to fix everything manually.

India has a problem of volumes on 4G, the problem of migrating to 4G and then evolving 4G to 5G and higher. The problem can be addressed by adopting new-age technologies, developing India-centric use cases and preparing for impact of 5G, he suggested.