Airtel tells Tata-owned Tejas Networks again: Your equipment is 'sub-standard' and don't blame it on BSNL's ...

Airtel has reportedly reiterated its stand on the equipment of Tata-owned Tejas. In a fresh escalation, Bharti Group-owned Airtel once again termed the equipment made by the Tata-owned company and deployed by state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), are "sub-standard". Airtel also dismissed the local equipment maker's clarification. According to a report in Economic Times, Airtel had sent a strongly worded letter to Tejas on November 14, claiming that the issue has been affecting its Quality of Service (QoS) since December of last year. The letter reportedly expressed frustration that no corrective action has been taken despite "repeated technical submissions, discussions, joint tests, and directives." asking the latter to take immediate action on continuing interference being caused its equipment deployed by BSNL.Airtel made the comments following Tejas Networks denying claims around its equipment and instead placing the blame on Airtel for putting up sites very close to BSNL it claimed was leading to interference in the Rajasthan circle. This technical standoff occurs against the backdrop of the Indian government’s push for self-sufficiency in telecom. BSNL has been mandated to use equipment from local firms, with its 4G network being rolled out by a consortium including C-DoT, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), and Tejas. The incident highlights the complexities of India's transition to using indigenous telecom gear, a move designed to reduce reliance on foreign vendors amid geopolitical uncertainties. "The claim made by Tejas Networks is baseless. Towers have historically accommodated two or more sites of different operators without interference, so the problem isn't due to closeness of sites. The current problem is more a function of sub-standard equipment which doesn't conform to Indian spectrum allocation requirements," Airtel said in a statement to ET.The cause of the interference was due to technical non-conformance in Tejas' radio equipment and filter design. The filter supplied by Tejas was designed for 800 MHz band within frequency range of 864-894 MHz, aligned with certain international standards. However, in India, the 800 MHz downlink operates strictly between 869-889 MHz, Airtel said. "But the radio equipment made by Tejas for the 850 MHz for India - being used by BSNL - radiates signals beyond those limits, thus interfering with Airtel's 900 MHz uplink. To resolve the matter, Tejas needs to use a filter to ensure the equipment radiates signals only up to the limit," an Airtel spokesperson said.Tejas rejected the claim and instead blamed Airtel. "The interference from BSNL to Airtel arises not due to Tejas's radios not meeting out-of-band emission specifications but primarily because Airtel's sites are deployed very close to BSNL's, without adequately maximising coupling losses," Tejas replied to Airtel in a letter sent on November 24.Tejas attributed the issue to historical spectrum allocation rather than hardware failure. "The problem in Rajasthan circle is due to an overlap of spectrum bands and is being addressed by additional filtering in consultation with DoT, Airtel and BSNL," the company told ET.