Indian Army Inducts First Indigenous Chip-Based 4G Base Station

Indian army has inducted the first-ever indigenous chip-based 4G mobile base station, which it procured from Bangalore-based firm Signaltron through the government e-marketplace portal. Signaltron founder Himamshu Khasnis told PTI that the chip used in the Sahyadri LTE base stations has been developed by Signalchip.

About this first singlechip

Earlier in 2010, Khasnis and his team founded a fabless semiconductor company Signalchip to make chips for 4G and 5G networks. “Signaltron has built the entire system indigenously using India’s first chips for 4G and 5G networks developed by Signalchip. This is the first time an Indian system running on an Indian chip for complex communication technology has been inducted into the army.

Benefits of this singlechip

Using indigenous chips gives a high degree of control on the security of the system in its operation,” Khasnis said. He said the Indian Army had posted a bid on GeM (Government e-Marketplace) for the supply of 4G LTE NIB (Network In a Box) solution last year. “Signaltron proposed the Sahyadri NIB solution and came out successful in stringent technical trials. Subsequently, Signaltron also won the competitive bid to supply the equipment.

High quality secure wireless

Weighing just 7 kgs, Sahyadri Network In a Box (NIB) systems provide high-quality secure wireless communication for audio, video and data applications,” Khasnis said. He said the Sahyadri NIB is capable of working in both standalone and cellular modes and capable of seamless inter-operation with legacy analogue and IP telephony systems.

Made in India

The majority of the base stations deployed in India are not made in India. Even the few that are made in India do not have indigenous chips inside, which is the most strategic and important component of modern electronic devices and equipment. Signaltron has supplied 20 units to the army and the deployment of the base stations depends on their strategic requirement, Khasnis said.

Flexibility to change the location

“We have supplied 20 units to the army. The Army takes its own call on when and where to deploy base station. Since they are light and mobile units, it gives them the flexibility to change the location as per their requirement, he added.