Tech Mahindra Partners with AT&T for 5G/LTE Certification
Indian IT giant Tech Mahindra has finalized a strategic licensing agreement with US telecommunications behemoth AT&T.
The deal grants Tech Mahindra access to AT&T’s highly advanced, proprietary Automated Network Testing (ANT) and Open Tool platforms, enabling the IT services firm to offer sophisticated, automated network testing and certification solutions to Communication Service Providers (CSPs) worldwide.
The agreement is a significant endorsement of AT&T’s in-house engineering capabilities and represents a potent expansion of Tech Mahindra’s telecom portfolio, which already services over 250 CSPs across more than 90 countries.
By integrating these platforms, Tech Mahindra is positioning itself at the forefront of the movement to enhance network reliability and streamline the complex processes involved in deploying 5G infrastructure globally.
The Core Technology: Tech Mahindra and AT&T’s Leap in Network Validation
The two platforms licensed by Tech Mahindra—ANT and Open Tool—are integral components of AT&T’s internal operations, developed to manage the complexity of its own vast network architecture.
The Automated Network Testing (ANT) platform is designed as an intelligent, end-to-end framework.
It features a user-friendly graphical interface, a robust test execution engine, and an automated backend that simplifies the validation of network health.
Critically, ANT acts as an orchestrator, seamlessly integrating multiple external industry traffic generation tools to execute and validate tests with minimal manual input.
This significantly reduces the time and cost associated with traditionally manual testing processes.
Complementing ANT is the Open Tool, a versatile utility developed by AT&T for traffic simulation.
This tool is crucial for generating realistic data and voice traffic volumes.
These volumes are necessary for certifying the functionality and connectivity of the mobile packet core network.
By simulating real-world conditions in both lab and production environments, Open Tool ensures that networks are robust and reliable.
This capability means they are also capable of handling future data demands.
The integrated solution is applicable across all major domains of modern wireless connectivity: Long Term Evolution (LTE), 5G Non-Standalone (NSA), and the future-ready 5G Standalone (SA) networks.
Global Market Penetration and the ‘AI-Native Era’
For Tech Mahindra, the licensing agreement provides an immediate competitive edge in the highly lucrative global telecom services market.
As part of the deal, Tech Mahindra is explicitly permitted to offer this solution to wireless providers in global markets where AT&T does not operate.
This effectively allows the Indian firm to commercialize a powerful, proven technology on a global scale.
Manish Mangal, President and Head – Americas Communication Business at Tech Mahindra, underscored the strategic importance of the collaboration.
He noted that in an age of rapid technological change, maintaining network reliability requires testing at unprecedented speed and scale.
Manish stated that integrating these AT&T applications enables Tech Mahindra to “reimagine network reliability in the AI-native era,” providing global operators with a highly automated solution for end-to-end network testing and certification.
This move solidifies Tech Mahindra’s status as a trusted transformation partner in network engineering.
AT&T’s Intellectual Property Licensing Strategy
For AT&T, the agreement marks a successful execution of its strategy to monetize its vast intellectual property portfolio.
Rather than keeping its cutting-edge operational tools solely for internal use, AT&T is leveraging licensing.
This strategy transforms its internal investments into new growth opportunities and revenue streams.
Kelly Marlar, Vice President and Managing Director of AT&T Intellectual Property, LLC, highlighted this approach, stating that licensing relationships like this “transform our investments into new growth opportunities for AT&T, our licensees, and the industry.”
She emphasized that by collaborating with trusted third parties like Tech Mahindra, AT&T Intellectual Property helps accelerate innovation.
This collaboration also brings proven, reliable solutions to market faster across the entire telecommunications ecosystem.
The deal builds upon years of existing collaboration between the two companies, including previous multi-year agreements focused on accelerating AT&T’s IT network application modernization and movement to the cloud.
They also share joint efforts in open-source initiatives like the Open Network Automation Platform (ONAP).
This latest licensing step reinforces a shared commitment to developing and standardizing next-generation telecom technologies worldwide.
The enhanced automation is expected to ensure more robust and reliable networks. This paves the way for better connectivity for consumers and enterprises globally.
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