My takeaways from the India Mobile Congress 2024

What is IMC?

The India Mobile Congress, now in its 8th Edition, is Asia’s largest telecom, media, and technology forum. It is jointly organized by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Cellular Operators in India (COAI). The post-monsoon weather from 15-18 October is ideal for the who’s who of the telecom industry, smartphone manufacturers, networking vendors, chip makers, and cool startups to descend on the Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi to discuss the future of technology.

Honorable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi officially kicked off the event. “India’s mobile and telecom journey in the 21st century is a subject of study for the whole world,” Modi said while speaking at the inauguration. I wondered if India could take center stage in showing the world how networks can be built using Distributed Disaggregated Chassis (DDC), free from the shackles of traditional networking and closed ecosystems, paving the way for innovation. 6G, 5G, AI, satellite communications, semiconductors, and telecom dominated the conversations and speeches from ministers and top telecom leaders.

DriveNets impact on networking

The following days were filled with customer and partner meetings, all buzzing with excitement about DriveNets. The booth was packed, and everyone was eager to learn more about DriveNets’ deployments with ATT, Comcast, a top telecommunication operator in India, and others. The discussions on next-generation routing architectures, separation of software from hardware, using white boxes, cutting costs, optics, automation, and delivering everything from the cloud were the talk of the town, showcasing the awe and curiosity about what DriveNets had accomplished.  

Hyperscalers and data centers

As part of a panel discussion on “hyperscalers and data centers in the digital landscape,” I, along with representatives from Jio, Vodafone, and Ciena, discussed challenges, solutions, and recommendations to support initiatives such as Atmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India with data centers. The audience’s appreciation of the message that for Indian telecom and data centers to truly thrive, they must use solutions that support unprecedented scale at lower costs, was palpable. 

The journey to running some of the world’s largest networks

I had the opportunity to meet with our customers and partners. We discussed ways to deepen our ties and push the bounds of networking. We announced our expanded partner ecosystem in India to meet the growing needs. I got to spend some time with our India team. I found them super knowledgeable and passionate about the network and their customers. After four days of meetings, presentations, discussions, and dinners, I was ready to have some downtime. I reflected on how far India has come in its journey. I likened it to DriveNets’ journey from a startup with dreams of disrupting networking to running some of the world’s largest networks. 

The future is indeed bright for India and the digital economy. Also, another plate of Chole Bhature (Spicy white chickpeas with deep-fried bread) never hurt anyone! If you are running a network, you must consider DriveNets; if you are in Delhi, you must try the Chole Bhature!