Nokia's Bell Labs is open to collaborating with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), government agencies, and private players in India's space sector to support future lunar missions with 4G and advanced networking technologies. Thierry Klein, President of Bell Labs Solutions Research, visited India in late June to explore potential partnerships and deepen engagement with the country's growing space ecosystem. In an interview with Moneycontrol, Klein said India's space ambitions present a compelling opportunity for collaboration.
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Nokia Bell Labs Explores India's Space Ecosystem
"We are in a lot of conversations globally, working with government agencies and private companies to see how we can support their missions from a communications perspective. This is really the reason why I came to India—because it is a great opportunity for me to learn more about the space ecosystem and build relations and explore collaboration opportunities with the Indian space sector," Klein was quoted as saying in the report
Nokia's 4G LTE and 5G Technologies for Space
India's upcoming Chandrayaan-4 mission, scheduled for 2027, aims to return lunar rock samples to Earth. The complex mission will involve multiple launches using ISRO's LVM-3 rocket and the in-orbit assembly of at least five components, making reliable and high-speed communications a critical requirement.
Nokia Bell Labs is developing space-adapted commercial-grade versions of 4G and 5G technologies to meet the growing demand for high-definition video, low-latency data transfer, and support for scientific, mining, and habitation activities on the Moon.
"Unlike the Apollo era, which relied on basic voice and low-resolution imagery, future lunar missions will demand high-definition video, data-rich applications, and low-latency networks to support scientific research, mining, transportation, and habitation on the Moon," said Klein, as mentioned in the report.
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Nokia's 4G LTE Demonstration
The company's technology was demonstrated during the Intuitive Machines IM-2 mission, which landed on the Moon in March 2024. Nokia deployed a functioning 4G LTE network, proving the feasibility of terrestrial cellular technologies in space, despite a lander issue that limited operation time.
"So that's been our vision for seven or eight years, and that's what we've really done with the Intuitive Machines 2 mission...We built the first cellular network and wanted to prove that we could do this. It was a technology demonstration to show that we can take something based on the networks we use on Earth, make all the necessary adaptations I mentioned, deploy the network, operate it successfully, and prove that cellular technology is a viable solution for space operations," Klein reportedly said.
Klein noted that while the technologies are based on standard 3GPP protocols, they are significantly re-engineered to withstand extreme lunar conditions, including wide temperature variations, radiation exposure, and limited power availability.
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5G on the Moon by 2030
Looking ahead, Klein said Bell Labs envisions the Moon's communication infrastructure developing similarly to Earth's surface networks, supporting permanent lunar bases, while satellites in lunar orbit provide 5G-based backhaul or coverage for remote regions. "We think of 5G as both providing surface capabilities as well as orbit-to-surface capabilities," he said, likening it to non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) on Earth.
The move to 5G on the Moon is expected by 2030, aligning with the adoption of 6G on Earth. Bell Labs is also working with Axiom Space to integrate 4G LTE into next-generation space suits, which are set to be used in NASA's Artemis 3 mission in 2027.
"We would expect that we have 5G on the lunar surface by 2030," Klein reportedly said, explaining that staying one generation behind Earth networks allows lunar missions to benefit from economies of scale, mature ecosystems, and deployment experience.
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India's Public and Private Space Players
With India opening its space sector to private participation and international collaboration, Nokia's proposed engagement could bring advanced telecom capabilities to future Indian lunar missions. Klein affirmed the company's openness to working with both public and private entities in India to advance lunar and deep space communications.
"Everybody realizes there is a need for communication. We are really open to working with anybody that we could support," Klein said, as per the report.
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