Nokia starts production of 5G equipment at Chennai factory

Network equipment manufacturer Nokia on Tuesday said that it has begun production of next generation 5G equipment at its state-of-the-art manufacturing site in Chennai.

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.

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It 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.

“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,” Sanjay Malik, Senior Vice President and Head of India Market at Nokia, said.

The 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, he said.

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Since its establishment in 2008, Nokia has invested over ₹600 crore in developing the manufacturing facility which is spread over 1.4 lakh square meters. This factory has manufactured more than 50 lakh 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, the company said.