Prashant Malkani, Head, Network Infrastructure, Nokia India
Nokia is one of India’s leading players in the networking infrastructure and technology domains. The company’s network infrastructure business is dedicated to tailored solutions that address the growing demand for reliable and high speed network connectivity. In an interview with tele.net, Prashant Malkani, Head, Network Infrastructure, Nokia India, talked about the company’s business highlights and future focus areas…
What have been the business highlights of Nokia’s network infrastructure business in 2024?
Our network infrastructure group comprises the IP optics and fixed networks businesses. This is one of the business groups that cater to the entire transport layer and the wireline set-up. In 2024, driven by the growth in 5G roll-out and the subsequent surge in data consumption, we witnessed exponential growth in the demand for IP layers, and consequently, a much larger optics layer. We have also seen new demand for fixed wireless access (FWA) set-up, being done by 5G service providers. We expect it to be a good alternative for fibre networks for homes.
We are also working in the cybersecurity space and developing products in the anti-spam domain. For 5G use cases, network slicing is a crucial aspect, and Nokia is playing an important role in making it a utility for end customers.
What are your key initiatives on the manufacturing and innovation fronts?
We are working on various aspects of manufacturing and innovation in India. We have set-ups in Chennai for manufacturing select products, which are being supplied to communication service providers, enterprises and our web-scale partners across the globe. Our focus remains on ensuring that research and development (R&D) and the manufacturing of our key components are carried out in India.
We recently expanded our R&D facility in Chennai. This new R&D lab is one of the largest for Nokia globally in terms of its fixed network business. It will primarily focus on innovations in 10G, 25G, 50G and 100G passive optical network (PON), FWA, Wi-Fi and multi-dwelling unit solutions, as well as access network and home controllers.
We have also announced our collaboration with Dixon Technologies, one of the leading electronic manufacturing services companies, for manufacturing fixed broadband devices in India. The aim is to address the growing demand for fixed broadband services in the country, driven by the rapid expansion of fibre-to-the-home and 5G FWA technologies in recent years. This collaboration will produce GPON, 5G FWA and mesh Wi-Fi devices capable of delivering up to 1 gigabit per second per home.
What are your views on FWA as a key 5G monetisation use case?
FWA is the most monetised use case till date on the 5G network. I believe FWA is bridging the gap in areas where fibre networks cannot reach, providing a viable solution for end users and home broadband users. At Nokia, we provide end-to-end solutions, for FWA set-ups, which include the core, devices and a comprehensive automation suite.
What are your views on AI-powered 6G?
Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming an integral part of innovation, owing to its vast potential. As for integration with 6G, it makes good sense, since the technology is in the development phase. Recently, the International Telecommunication Union’s World Telecommunication Standardisation Assembly occurred on the sidelines of the India Mobile Congress 2024, creating a global stage for collaboration, discussion and setting of standards. We believe that when 6G specifications are finalised, AI will be an integral part. However, it could be a while before that happens, given that 5G services have just been launched and still need to be monetised and capitalised.
What will be your focus areas in the next two to three years?
We have a very positive outlook across all the domains we operate in. Besides network infrastructure, our other business divisions include mobile networks (the radio and microwave products portfolio) and cloud network services (the core and cloud solutions portfolio). I believe we are one of the very few vendors and probably the only non-Chinese vendor to have this end-to-end portfolio, covering all the domains.
As data consumption continues to grow in the future, we will see further cloudification of the network, along with significant advancements in improvisation,
automation and the IP-fication of use cases. At Nokia, we are well-poised to address these requirements.
