5G network roll-out in India has been remarkable, says Nokia CEO

The 5G network roll-out in India has been remarkable and the country is among the top three nations with the largest 5G installed base in the world, Nokia CEO Pekka Lundmark said.

Speaking at the inauguration of Nokia's 6G research lab in Bengaluru, Lundmark highlighted the rapidity of the 5G deployment in India, emphasizing its significant download speeds which surpass many advanced markets.

Despite a downturn in telecom gear shipments in major regions, India's 5G deployment has notably counterbalanced dips in the business operations of telecom giants Ericsson and Nokia.

The latter reported a staggering 333% growth in India sales, approximately Rs 9,500 crore, in the June quarter of 2023. Concurrently, Ericsson noted a 74% growth in net sales in the same quarter in "South East Asia, Oceania and India," with India contributing around 90% of its business.

Major telecom players, Jio and Airtel, are projected to invest about Rs 75,000 crore in the current fiscal year to fortify their networks, as per a JM Financial report. The report anticipates investments of around Rs 42,000 crore by Jio and Rs 33,000 crore by Bharti Airtel in FY24, with investments expected to taper off once their 5G network roll-out targets are achieved.

Nokia's 6G Lab in India

Earlier this week, Nokia announced that it has established a 6G Lab at its Global R&D centre in Bengaluru, India to speed up the development of fundamental technologies and innovative use cases underpinned by 6G technology, addressing future needs of both industry and society.

The company said the lab will serve as a collaborative platform among industry stakeholders, facilitating testing of innovative solutions and exploring their commercialization potential.

In the 6G era, 'Network as a Sensor' has been identified as a key enabling technology that supports the vision of bringing the digital and physical worlds together. Nokia stated that sensing will be fully integrated into the wireless network and will operate simultaneously with communication services.

The company also said the technology has the potential to enable people to see around corners, gather information about their surroundings, and even interact with objects at a distance.

The Lab will also provide an experimental platform for researching algorithms, privacy, and sustainable system design, according to the company.

Nokia is also in the process of building research collaborations with premier research institutes in India, such as IISc and IITs, to further amplify the 6G research initiative in India.

Nokia's expansion towards 6G

Nokia is engaged in several global projects and regional initiatives with industry peers, customers, academia, and research institutions. The company aims to form a common view and direction for 6G, including 6G Hexa-X and Hexa-X-II, the first and second phase of the European 6G Flagship.

Notably, It is also a founding member of the Next G Alliance which is helping to drive the 6G ecosystem in North America and coordinating the German Lighthouse project 6G ANNA.

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