Telecom provider Reliance Jio has selected Finnish telecom equipment maker, Nokia, as a prime supplier to provide 5G equipment hardware in a multi-year deal. Nokia will help the country’s largest carrier (with over 420 million customers) for deploying standalone or 5G SA.
Nokia said it would provide 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) equipment from its AirScale portfolio including base stations, high-capacity 5G Massive MIMO antennas, Remote Radio Heads (RRH) to Reliance Jio to support different spectrum bands, and self-organizing network software. To expand next-generation wireless services across the country, Reliance Jio has also inked a multi-year contract with Swedish supplier Ericsson which will deploy its energy-efficient 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) products and solutions from the company’s portfolio and E-band microwave mobile transport solutions in the 5G network for Jio.
“This is a significant win for Nokia in an important market and a new customer with one of the largest RAN footprints in the world,” Pekka Lundmark, President and CEO at Nokia, said. “This ambitious project will introduce millions of people across India to premium 5G services, enabled by our industry-leading AirScale portfolio.”
Akash Ambani, Reliance Jio Chairman, said, “Jio is committed to continuously investing in the latest network technologies to enhance the experience of all of its customers. We are confident that our partnership with Nokia will deliver one of the most advanced 5G networks globally.
5G data speeds are expected to be about 10 times faster that the 4G network. The next generation is vital for emerging technologies like self-driving cars and artificial intelligence. Both Nokia and Ericsson are supplying all three largest mobile operators in India including Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea. Airtel and Reliance Jio have announced that they will provide pan-India 5G coverage by 2024.