Nokia Establishes New Manufacturing Facility In India, Targets 10 Mn 5G Devices Annually
The facility is expected to generate around 3,000 jobs and aims to produce up to 10 million devices annually
Nokia has unveiled its plans to establish a new manufacturing facility in Noida, India, aimed at producing 5G receivers, Wi-Fi routers and fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) termination devices in partnership with Dixon Technologies. The facility is expected to generate around 3,000 jobs and aims to produce up to 10 million devices annually, supporting India’s rapidly growing demand for broadband and 5G connectivity.
On Friday, Nokia declared the opening of its latest manufacturing unit in collaboration with India’s Dixon Technologies, where the telecom giant will produce a range of fixed network products. These include 5G outdoor receivers, in-home Wi-Fi routers and FTTH termination devices, all designed to meet the increasing need for robust broadband and wireless solutions in India.
Sandy Motley, President of Nokia’s Fixed Networks Business Group, spoke about the facility's production targets, stating, “We are looking at about 10 million devices per year, ramping very quickly to support large volumes per month and per year.” This collaboration is expected to generate 3,000 jobs in the Noida area, a milestone Motley described as ‘quite exciting’ for local development.
Nokia’s presence in India extends beyond this new facility. The company has a well-established research and development center in Bengaluru, where it focuses on the design of optical long-haul networks. Additionally, Nokia operates a telecom equipment manufacturing facility in Chennai that produces 4G and 5G radios and optical line terminals, supplying both the Indian and global markets.
India’s fixed wireless access (FWA) market is experiencing a surge in demand. Telecom service operators are leading the call for fixed network products to expand India’s broadband infrastructure. As of now, nearly 40 million Indian homes are connected to broadband services, with Nokia forecasting that 5G FWA subscriber homes could reach 100 million over the next five years, surpassing the United States.
Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel have been driving competition in this space with their respective JioAirFiber and Xtream AirFiber offerings, both aiming to scale rapidly to meet subscriber demand. Jio, for instance, is onboarding close to 1 million new subscribers monthly, while Airtel plans to shift its FWA offerings to a 5G standalone model by December 2024.
