Tech Mahindra, one of India’s leading IT services and consulting companies, announced on November 11, 2025, that it has entered a licensing agreement with U.S.-based telecom giant AT&T. Through this deal, Tech Mahindra gains access to AT&T’s proprietary Automated Network Testing (ANT) and Open Tool platforms. By integrating these technologies, Tech Mahindra aims to offer an advanced, fully automated network testing and validation solution to Communication Service Providers (CSPs) around the world.
Essentially, this collaboration is designed to help telecom operators test their LTE and 5G (both Non-Standalone and Standalone) networks with greater speed, consistency, and precision. In a digital economy so heavily reliant on connectivity, improving network reliability at scale isn’t just beneficial-it’s becoming absolutely essential.
Key Takeaways
- Agreement Focus: Tech Mahindra licenses AT&T’s Automated Network Testing (ANT) and Open Tool platforms.
- Technology Scope: Designed to transform network testing and certification for LTE and 5G (NSA and SA) systems.
- Customer Benefit: Enables global telecom operators to run faster, automated end-to-end network health checks, connectivity testing, and debugging.
- Global Reach: Tech Mahindra will extend these solutions to wireless providers in markets where AT&T does not operate.
- Strategic Alignment: Strengthens Tech Mahindra’s focus on network automation, scalability, and advanced telecom services worldwide.
A Leap Forward in Network Testing Technology
At the core of this agreement are two powerful AT&T-developed platforms. The ANT platform acts as a central orchestrator for network testing-it features a user-friendly graphical interface, a robust test execution engine, and an automated backend that seamlessly integrates with multiple third-party traffic generation tools.
This combination of automation and orchestration allows CSPs to test network reliability faster and more consistently than traditional methods. And as mobile networks evolve, the ability to validate performance at this scale is becoming increasingly crucial.
Manish Mangal, President and Head of Americas Communication Business at Tech Mahindra, noted that maintaining reliability today requires testing at an “equally unprecedented speed and scale.” He emphasized that integrating AT&T’s tools enables Tech Mahindra to “reimagine network reliability in the AI-native era,” helping telecom operators automate the process of testing and certification more intelligently.
Understanding the Open Tool
Another important part of the licensed technology is AT&T’s Open Tool-a versatile data and voice traffic simulation system. It’s used to validate the functionality and performance of the mobile packet core network, which is essentially the brain of any mobile system, handling data routing and user authentication.
The tool simulates real-world traffic conditions for both lab and live environments, allowing network operators to evaluate how their systems respond before rolling out services to customers. In practical terms, it helps prevent costly errors and downtime by identifying issues before they impact users.
Kelly Marlar, Vice President and Managing Director of AT&T Intellectual Property, LLC, highlighted that such licensing collaborations are a way for AT&T to extend the reach of its technology investments. She remarked that these partnerships not only generate new growth opportunities for AT&T and its partners but also accelerate the adoption of proven solutions across the wider telecom industry.
Expanding Global Reach in Telecom
Tech Mahindra’s strength lies in its vast telecom experience. With a presence in over 90 countries and more than 250 telecom clients, it already plays a critical role in network transformation projects worldwide. This new agreement expands that influence, giving Tech Mahindra the capability to offer AT&T’s advanced testing platforms to CSPs in regions beyond AT&T’s direct market footprint.
This partnership also aligns closely with Tech Mahindra’s long-standing commitment to improving network engineering and customer experience for telecom clients. The timing feels particularly relevant as global 5G rollouts accelerate. The networks being deployed today are complex, highly software-defined, and dynamic-making manual testing increasingly inefficient and time-consuming.
Automated solutions like ANT and Open Tool give CSPs the tools they need to reduce operational costs, speed up deployment, and ensure consistent service quality. In that sense, the Tech Mahindra-AT&T collaboration represents more than a business deal-it’s a step toward redefining how telecom networks are tested, validated, and maintained in the 5G era.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. What are 5G Non-Standalone (NSA) and 5G Standalone (SA) networks?
A1: 5G Non-Standalone (NSA) relies on existing 4G LTE infrastructure for its control functions, serving as a transitional stage toward full 5G. In contrast, 5G Standalone (SA) uses an entirely new 5G core network, offering higher speeds, lower latency, and more advanced capabilities for next-generation services.
Q2. How does automated testing help telecom companies?
A2: Automated network testing reduces manual intervention, enabling faster service rollout, fewer human errors, and lower operational costs. It helps detect and resolve issues quickly, ensuring greater network stability and better customer experiences overall.
Q3. What is the mobile packet core network?
A3: The mobile packet core network is the central hub of a mobile system that handles user authentication, data routing, and connectivity. It manages how information moves between mobile devices and the internet, ensuring smooth and secure communication.
Q4. What is Tech Mahindra’s role in the global telecom market?
A4: Tech Mahindra is a global IT consulting and engineering company that works extensively with telecom providers. With over 250 telecom customers in 90 countries, it helps operators modernize their networks, improve customer experiences, and deploy new digital services efficiently.
