Nokia Networks may make 5G gear at Chennai facility

Nokia Networks will consider manufacturing 5G telecom network components from its Oragadam facility near Chennai.

However, no decision has been taken so far. “It can be Chennai or other facilities in China, Finland or Mexico,” said Satendra Singh, Head of Manufacturing Operations, India, Nokia Networks.

The Oragadam facility where nearly 1,200 employees are working, started manufacturing 2G equipment in 2008, and later 3G and 4G equipment. “When we decide to manufacture 5G equipment, we will first import the test equipment. We have not reached that stage yet,” he told newspersons at the facility, which achieved a milestone of producing two million components for telecom networks.

Singh said that at present only research and development is going on and commercial implementation of 5G is likely to start by the Winter Olympics in 2018 when a lot of data will be streaming.

A senior company official said the company is part of the 5G technology standardisation network. The company has already signed an agreement with DoCoMo of Japan with trials going on.

Sandeep Girotra, Head, India Region, Nokia Networks, said that 5G technology upgradation would happen around the Internet of Things. It may not be on mobile broadband but ‘latency’ between two objects that have chips embedded in it.

The company has invested nearly ₹500 crore in the Oragadam facility, he said. There is no impact on its ability to hire new recruits due to the closure of Nokia’s mobile manufacturing unit at Sriperumbudur.

“We take care of our employees well and the attrition rate is less than the industry’s average,” he said. Nearly a third of the products manufactured at Oragadam facility are exported. This trend will continue for a while unless there is a great demand from the local market, he said.

Karl Kirschenhofer, Vice-President, Manufacturing Operations, Nokia Networks, said that in three years, the company is likely to increase sourcing of materials from the local market to nearly 45 per cent from the present 20 per cent.

The Oragadam facility is the largest in the Indian telecom equipment manufacturing sector, and is a strategic hub for Nokia’s global operations.

The two million unit milestone was reached in the same year that Nokia celebrated its 150{+t}{+h} anniversary, he said. Speaking at a function to commemorate the two million unit production, Amitabh Kant, Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, said that the Centre’s ‘Make in India’ campaign was not about a protective market but is all about being part of a global supply chain. Nokia Networks is an example of this. The company sources components from various parts of the world, does value addition at Oragadam and supplies to the local market and exports to many countries.

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