Nokia’s telecom gear factory in Chennai has reached a significant production milestone by reaching seven million telecom units including 5G and 4G equipment. Nokia’s achievement is in line with the Centre’s ‘Make in India’ initiative that encourages companies to develop and manufacture products in the country, the company announced on Thursday.
The production facility in Chennai, one of Nokia’s largest globally, is a large-scale manufacturer of telecom infrastructure equipment including for 4G/5G networks for both domestic and global markets. The factory has completed fifteen years of operation this year and is playing a key role in boosting telecom equipment manufacturing in the country, it said.
The unit manufactures 5G new radio (5G NR), 5G massive multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) products, 4G/LTE radios as well as fibre broadband equipment among others. Nokia exports close to 50% of the production. Further, it has progressively increased the localisation of components by up to 2 times compared to previous years in 5G equipment manufacturing.
Teemu Toiviainen, head of global manufacturing & EMS management, Nokia, said: “From being the first to manufacture 5G NR in India to now producing 5G massive MIMO products and transport network elements, we have come a long way. We at Nokia strongly believe in sustainability to make the world a better place for future generations. This factory operates with wind and solar energy, contributing up to 81% of green energy consumption until most recently, targeting to be 100% by 2025.”
Nokia in last week announced that it has established a 6G lab at its global R&D centre in Bengaluru. The first-of-its-kind project aims to accelerate the development of fundamental technologies and innovative use cases underpinned by 6G technology that will address the future needs of both industry and society.
The lab will function as a platform for collaboration for industry stakeholders and facilitate the testing of innovative solutions while establishing their potential for commercialisation.
Nokia’s experts at its Bengaluru centre will support country’s ambition to make notable contributions towards global 6G technology standards. It is also in the process of building research collaborations with premier research institutes in India like IISc/IITs to further scale up the 6G research initiative in India.