Finnish telecommunications equipment manufacturer Nokia has highlighted India’s growing role as a key hub for 6G research, development, and application innovation in the near future. The company foresees the commencement of Indian telecom operators’ monetization journey in 2024, ushering in the second phase of 5G network expansion. Nokia has made significant contributions in this regard, having opened the first 6G lab in India recently, with a focus on collaboration with the Indian government to achieve a 10% Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) share in the 6G domain. The inauguration of the ‘6G Lab’ in India by Union Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw marks a milestone in Nokia’s commitment to support India’s contributions to global 6G technology standards. Furthermore, Nokia is actively fostering research collaborations with esteemed institutes like IISc and IITs to bolster 6G research endeavors in the country.
Nokia is actively engaged in 6G standardization and development with various industry bodies and envisions India’s substantial role in the years ahead. The company believes that India can evolve into a robust center for 6G R&D, product manufacturing, and application development with the right collaboration. As for 5G monetization, Nokia sees fixed wireless access (FWA) as a solution that can provide high-quality connectivity to 70-100 million homes, particularly in areas where laying fiber connections is challenging. Nokia recognizes the potential of sectors like manufacturing, defense, and railways to become significant users of 5G technology but acknowledges that widespread adoption in these sectors and others will take some time, with the true massification of 5G expected to occur in two years. Nokia is actively collaborating with telecom operators, industries, startups, and government bodies to deploy new use cases, and it suggests that the government could fund initiatives with societal benefits, which are expected to drive substantial volumes in 2024 and 2025. Nokia predicts that India’s 5G subscriber base will expand rapidly, driven by the sale of a significant number of 5G handsets during the ongoing festive season, ultimately boosting 5G enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) in just six months.
