Nokia's Chennai plant starts production of 5G mMIMO equipment

The Chennai factory was also the first to deploy India's first real-world application of Industry 4.0 including AR/VR, automation and analytics, to enhance operational efficiency and productivity.

Finnish telecom giant Nokia said Tuesday its manufacturing site in Chennai, South India, has started the production of the next-generation massive Multiple Input Multiple Output (mMIMO) equipment. 

Massive MIMO (mMIMO) is a key element of 5G technology that delivers high capacity, especially in densely populated locations and brings together antennas at the transmitter and receiver to ensure improved speed and spectrum efficiency.

Nokia said it is manufacturing mMIMO based 5G products with the latest 64-Transmit/64-Receive (64T64R) configuration. The equipment is already being exported to many countries in advanced stages of 5G deployment.

Commenting on this development, Sanjay Malik, Senior Vice President and Head of India Market, at Nokia, said, "Our Chennai factory has emerged as a benchmark of India's manufacturing capabilities, bringing an entire range of telecom technology to operators in India and the rest of the world. From being the first to manufacture 5G NR in India to producing mMIMO, it demonstrates our innovative manufacturing capabilities and our belief in India's skill and talent to produce the best-in-class equipment. This will enable us to support Indian Operators as they prepare to launch 5G."

Nokia's Chennai factory was established in 2008 and is one of the largest telecom equipment manufacturing plant in the country. Since its establishment, Nokia has invested over Rs 600 crore in developing a best-in-class manufacturing facility that is spread over 140,000 square meters.

The plant is a significant contributor to the Indian government's `Make in India' initiative to promote domestic manufacturing and was the first factory in India to start 5G New Radio production in 2018.

The Chennai factory was also the first to deploy India's first real-world application of Industry 4.0 including AR/VR, automation and analytics, to enhance operational efficiency and productivity.