Nokia starts production of next generation 5G equipment in India

Nokia announced that it has begun the production of next generation 5G equipment at its state-of-the-art manufacturing site in Chennai, Southern India. Nokia was the first to manufacture the 5G New Radio in India, and it is now producing the cutting-edge Nokia AirScale massive Multiple Input Multiple Output (mMIMO) solution. The equipment is already being exported to many countries in advanced stages of 5G deployment. Nokia’s Chennai plant is a significant contributor to the government’s `Make in India’ initiative to boost domestic manufacturing designed to position India as a manufacturing hub for the latest telecom gear.

Since it was established in 2008, Nokia has invested over INR 600 crore since in developing a best-in-class manufacturing facility which is spread over 140,000 square meters. This factory has manufactured more than 5 million telecom network equipment units over the years. The factory was the first to deploy India’s first ‘real-world’ application of Industry 4.0 including AR/VR, automation and analytics, to enhance operational efficiency and productivity.

Nokia is now manufacturing mMIMO based 5G products with the latest 64-Transmit/64-Receive (64T64R) configuration. Massive MIMO is a key element of 5G technology that delivers high capacity, especially in densely populated locations. It brings together antennas at the transmitter and receiver to ensure improved speed and spectrum efficiency.

Sanjay Malik, Senior Vice President and Head of India Market, at Nokia, said: “Our Chennai factory has emerged as a benchmark of India’s manufacturing capabilities, bringing an entire range of telecom technology to operators in India and the rest of the world. From being the first to manufacture 5G NR in India to producing mMIMO, it demonstrates our innovative manufacturing capabilities and our belief in India’s skill and talent to produce the best-in-class equipment. This will enable us to support Indian Operators as they prepare to launch 5G.”
CT Bureau