Nokia India, one of the leading telecom equipment makers, has expanded its Fixed Networks R&D facility in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
Nokia says the new R&D lab will be one of the largest globally for Nokia and the largest for its Fixed Networks business. Nokia generated sales revenue of EUR 2,943 million from Fixed Networks business in 2023.
Nokia is betting on Fixed Networks because it is powering the fixed wireless access (FWA) market, with 50 FWA 5G deployments (including mmWave) globally.
This investment will strengthen Nokia’s technology innovations in 10G, 25G, 50G and 100G PON, Fixed Wireless Access, Wi-Fi and MDU solutions, as well as access network and home controllers.
The Government of Tamil Nadu will provide Nokia with essential infrastructure, regulatory and policy support in line with current policies.
Vimalkumar Kothandaraman, Head of Fixed Networks for Asia Pacific at Nokia, said: “Our R&D footprint in Chennai is critical to our Fixed Networks strategy. This investment highlights our dedication to India and global technology advancements.”
Nokia says it maintained its leading position in passive optical networks. Nokia has more than 400 fiber customers in 130 countries. Nokia is the leader in 25G-PON as well as XGS-PON business. Nokia is supplying 25G-PON to Google Fiber.
Nokia’s Fixed Networks sales were EUR 2.369 billion in 2023. Nokia reported a drop of EUR 574 million, or 20 percent in Fixed Networks sales due to weakness in North America with a slowdown in fixed wireless access, as well as in lower spending in fiber.
Nokia’s main competitors include Huawei and ZTE, along with Calix and Adtran (Fixed Networks), Cisco and Juniper (IP Networks), Ciena and Infinera (Optical Networks), and Subcom and NEC (Submarine Networks).