As per Pekka Lundmark, president and chief executive officer of the Finnish telecom equipment manufacturer, Nokia's 5G radio arrangement with Reliance Jio, India's largest telecom provider, has a sizable volume potential. As part of the agreement, Nokia will provide base stations, high-capacity 5G Massive MIMO antennas, Remote Radio Heads (RRH) to support various frequency bands, and self-organizing network software, according to a statement from Nokia.
Further Details About the 5G Equipment Contract
The company has secured 45% of the 5G radio network for Bharti Airtel, and the fact is that they also have a deal with Reliance Jio which is obviously very important because that is a customer where they have no radio network business at all in 4G and had a market share of 0%, according to Lundmark in an earnings call with analysts. This Jio agreement is a significant increase in their market share as well as a very major new client engagement for them. They have already stated that their goal is to develop faster than the market in Mobile Networks and to win share, and they believe that agreements like these will firmly place them on a road to do that, he continued.
This week, Jio said that it has signed 5G radio partnerships with Nokia and its Swedish rival Ericsson. The corporations, however, have not made the specifics of the contracts public. It is a considerable market share, and they shall see when it may be disclosed. It's a substantial piece. It represents a considerable market share. Therefore, Lundmark stated, this indicates a considerable volume possibility for them.
Four cities have seen the introduction of Jio's 5G beta services. Airtel, in contrast, has started up its 5G network in eight locations. Between 2023 and 2024, both telcos hope to have fifth-generation networks installed throughout the entire nation.
The CEO of Nokia stated that the business had a successful year in North America but that things should return to normal, while the rapid 5G rollout plans of Indian telcos will have an impact on the company's volume in 2023. In India, 5G essentially increases quickly from zero to very high levels. The 5G ramp-up plans of operators are really aggressive, and this will have an impact on a significant amount of volume in India in '23 as well as the mix, he noted.
Nokia announced a 12% year-over-year increase in its India sales for the quarter that ended on September 30, from 250 million euros in the corresponding period last year to 281 million euros this quarter.
