Macquarie Capital-owned CloudExtel, a network-as-a-service (NaaS) solution and services, is planning to significantly expand its fiber and wireless infrastructure over the next five years. In an interaction with TechCircle, Kunal Bajaj Chief executive and Co-Founder at CloudExtel, said that the company aims to increase its network capacity by more than five times its current size to support telecom operators in rapidly expanding their 4G and 5G mobile networks in areas that are currently uncovered.
Additionally, CloudExtel plans to fiberise towers and data centers to further enhance network capabilities, said Bajaj.
CloudExtel started operations in 2014 as a dark fiber leasing company in South Mumbai and grew significantly to offer NaaS solutions and services to major telecom operators such as Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, Sify, RailTel, among others.
“The demand that's coming from end users is so high that the macro towers are no longer able to serve it effectively. And that's where small cell sites are gaining prominence as they seamlessly connect to users because they are physically closer to them,” said Bajaj.
Small cell sites are a type of wireless network base station that uses radio frequencies to connect devices to a wireless network and are used to enhance cellular network coverage and capacity in areas with high user density or limited space. They are commonly deployed in indoor spaces like shopping malls, airports, stadiums, office buildings, and convention centres.
The company, headquartered in Mumbai, currently operates a network of 6,000 small cell sites across 475 cities and has deployed over 7,000 kilometers of fiber in more than 50 cities in the country.
“Combining small cell sites and microsites today we have 45,000 sites across the country and we’re expecting to build 250,000 sites over the next 5-6 years,” he said.