Invences Provides Smart Telecom Networks to Small Firms

To stay competitive, many small businesses need advanced wireless communication networks, not only to communicate but also to leverage technologies such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and robotics. Often, however, the businesses lack the technical expertise needed to install, configure, and maintain the systems.

Bhaskara Rallabandi, who spent more than two decades working for major telecom companies, decided to use his expertise to help small businesses. Rallabandi, an IEEE senior member, is an expert certified by the International Council on Systems Engineering.

In 2023 he helped found Invences, a telecommunications automation company headquartered in Frisco, Texas.

Invences services include designing, building, and installing data centers, as well as cost-effective and secure wireless, private, IoT, and virtual communications networks.

The company has set up systems for farms, factories, and universities in rural and urban areas including underserved communities. Its mission, Rallabandi says, is to “build autonomous, ethical, and sustainable networks that connect communities intelligently.”

For his work, he was recognized last year for “entrepreneurial leadership in founding and scaling a U.S.-based technology company, advancing innovation in 5G/6G and Open RAN [radio access network], shaping global standards, and inspiring future leaders through mentorship and community impact” with the IEEE-USA Entrepreneur Achievement Award for Leadership in Entrepreneurial Spirit.

Building a telecommunications career

He began his telecommunications career in 2009 as a manager and principal network engineer at Verizon’s Innovation Labs in Waltham, Mass. He and his team ran some of the earliest long-term evolution and evolved packet core performance trials. (LTE is the 4G wireless broadband standard for mobile devices. EPC is the IP-based, high-performance core network architecture for 4G LTE networks.)

That work at Innovation Labs, he says, was key to the development of the first 4G systems. It set the stage for scalable, interoperable broadband architectures that underpin today’s 5G and 6G designs.

“We built the first bridge between legacy and cloud-native networks,” he says.

He left in 2011 to join AT&T Labs in Redmond, Wash. As senior manager and principal solutions architect, he oversaw the design, integration, and testing of the company’s next-generation wireless systems. He also led projects that redefined automation of networks and set up cloud computing systems including FirstNet, the nationwide broadband network for first responders, and VoLTE, the first voice-over-video LTE for conducting video calls.

In 2018 Rallabandi was hired as a principal and a senior manager of engineering at Samsung Networks Division’s Technology Solutions Division, in Plano, Texas. He led the development of 5G virtualization and Open RAN initiatives, which enable more flexible, scalable, and efficient large network deployments and interoperability among vendors.

Designing networks for small businesses

Feeling that he wasn’t reaching his full potential in the corporate world, and to help small businesses, he opted to start his own venture in 2023 with his wife, Lakshmi Rallabandi, a computer science engineer. She is Invences’s CEO, and he is its founding principal and chief technology advisor.

Invences, which is self-funded and employs about 100 people, has more than 50 customers from around the world.

“I wanted to do something more interesting where I could use the knowledge I gained working for these big companies to fill the gaps they overlooked in terms of automation” for small businesses, he says. “I have a team of people who, combined, have 200 years of technology experience.”

The startup builds networks that simplify its clients’ operations and reduce their costs, he says.

Instead of duplicating how major telecom carriers build networks for dense urban areas, he says, his designs reimagine the network architecture to lower its complexity, costs, and operational overhead.

“Connectivity should not be a luxury. Rural communities deserve an infrastructure that fits their needs.”

The systems integrate new technologies such as Open RAN, virtualized RAN, digital twins, telemetry, and advanced analytics. Some networks also incorporate agentic AI, an autonomous system that runs independently of humans and uses AI agents that plan and act across the network. Digital twins evaluate the agent’s decisions before releasing them.

“Autonomy is not about removing humans from the loop,” Rallabandi says. “It is about giving systems the ability to manage complexity so humans can focus on intent and outcomes.”

Rallabandi also has worked on AI-driven telecom observability technologies designed to allow networks to detect anomalies and optimize performance automatically.

He has developed a virtual O-RAN innovation lab, where clients can test the interoperability of their 5G systems, try out their enhancements, run trials of future functions, and experiment with updates.

Invences partnered with Trilogy Networks to build the FarmGrid platform for farms in Fargo, N.D., and Yuma, Ariz. FarmGrid used private 5G networks, edge-computing AI, and digital twins to make the operations more efficient.

“The project connects farms with sensors, analytics platforms, and autonomous equipment to enable precision agriculture, water optimization, and real-time decision-making,” Rallabandi says.

IEEE Senior Member Bhaskara Rallabandi talks about partnering with Trilogy Networks to build the FarmGrid platform for farms in Fargo, N.D., and Yuma, Ariz.TECKNEXUS

Paying it forward through IEEE programs

Rallabandi says he believes staying involved with IEEE is important to his career development and a way to give back to the profession. He is a frequent invited speaker at IEEE conferences.

He is active with IEEE Future Networks and its Connecting the Unconnected (CTU) initiative. Members of the Future Networks technical community work to develop, standardize, and deploy 5G and 6G networks as well as successive generations.

CTU aims to bridge the digital divide by bringing Internet service to underserved communities. During itsannual challenge, Rallabandi works with the winning students, researchers, and innovators to help them turn their concepts into affordable, cost-effective options.

“CTU represents the best of IEEE,” he says. “It is about taking innovation out of conferences and into communities that need it the most.

“Connectivity should not be a luxury. Rural communities deserve an infrastructure that fits their needs.”

He participates in the recently launched IEEE Future Networks Empowerment Through Mentorship initiative, which helps innovators, entrepreneurs, and startups expand their companies by educating them about finance, marketing, and related concepts.

“IEEE gives me both a voice and a responsibility,” Rallabandi says. “We’re not just developing technology; we are shaping how humanity connects.”