
Finnish telecom gear maker Nokia is betting on India to help it drive global standardization for 5G advanced and 6G technologies and is now accordingly increasing the presence of its research arm, Bell Labs, for the same.
“We find that the competence in India is severely underestimated in terms of what they can deliver to us. So we are increasing peer resources, including for global standardization, because we feel we can drive a lot of 5G advanced standards and 6G standards coming out of India competence,” Nokia’s Chief Technology and Strategy Officer, Nishant Batra told in a recent interview.
Batra said that while standards won’t be written out of India but Nokia is finding “competence and people” who can help it build global standards. “We’re now increasing the Bell Labs scope.”
“For 5G, you also have to look at the economic situation of the country…if you only had launched 5G 18 months ago, with the device price points where they were only a very select few would have benefited. That is not what India is about. So, absolutely India has not missed the bus. It is important that the plan from here on is robust,” Batra said.
By delaying further, Batra said that the returns on investment would further diminish leading to uncertainty in the whole telecom market.
“ARPU boost is an outcome of the competitive situation in our country. Our purpose is not because I’m going to launch in all but a better bigger package and in higher throughput. ARPU boost comes out if we can do something different,” he said.