During the inauguration of Nokia’s 6G research lab in Bengaluru, Nokia President and CEO Pekka Lundmark highlighted the remarkable progress of 5G network deployment in India. According to Lundmark, India currently ranks among the top three countries globally with one of the largest 5G installed bases.
This achievement underscores the significant strides made in developing and implementing 5G technology in India, reflecting the nation’s commitment to advancing its telecommunications infrastructure.
“5G roll-out in India is truly remarkable. This has been one of the fastest telecom network roll-outs ever and means India is now among the top three countries in the world with the largest 5G installed base, with 5G download speeds beating those found in many advanced markets,” Lundmark said.
While there has been a decline in telecom gear shipment across significant geographies, the 5G roll-out in India has offset a dip in the business of Ericsson and Nokia. Nokia posted 333 percent growth in India sales at about Rs 9,500 crore in the June quarter of 2023.
Ericsson reported 74 percent growth in net sales in the June 2023 quarter in “South East Asia, Oceania, and India” to around Rs 10,700 crore, of which around 90 percent of its business comes from India.
According to a report by JM Financial, Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel are expected to invest about Rs 75,000 crore in the current financial year to strengthen their networks.
According to the report, Jio may invest around Rs 42,000 crore and Bharti Airtel around Rs 33,000 crore in FY24, but the investment will taper down after their 5G network roll-out target is met as per their announcement.
“We are satisfied with this work so far – but there is still more to do. We will continue to support India’s digital transformation across industry, society, and public services,” Lundmark said.
Nokia’s 6G Lab was inaugurated virtually by Union Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. The first-of-its-kind project aims to accelerate the development of fundamental technologies and innovative use cases underpinned by 6G technology to address the future needs of industry and society.
Nokia’s 6G lab will function as a platform for collaboration among industry stakeholders and facilitate testing innovative solutions while establishing their potential for commercialization.
The lab includes a setup to research ‘Network as a Sensor’ technology that enables the network to sense objects, people, and movement without needing onboard sensors.
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 said in a statement. Sensing will be fully integrated into the wireless network and operate simultaneously with communication services.
“Nokia’s experts at its Bengaluru center will support India’s ambition to contribute to global 6G technology standards. Further, it is building research collaborations with premier research institutes in India like IISc and IITs to scale up the 6G research initiative in India,” the statement said.
Last month, UN body ITU’s Study Group accepted India’s vision to have ubiquitous coverage under 6G technology in its meeting held in Geneva — a move expected to reduce the cost of deployment of the next-generation technology.
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) decided to develop international mobile telecommunication standards after coordinating with its member countries, technology companies, and other stakeholders.
India has already secured more than 200 patents on 6G technology through Industry and academic collaboration with the support of the Department of Telecom.
