India 3rd largest country for Nokia to engage in 6G standardization: Nishant Batra

Nishant Batra, Nokia’s Chief Strategy and Technology Officer, praised the Indian government’s approach to 6G spectrum, saying that India has become Nokia’s third largest country for commitment to 6G standardization.

Nokia has started hiring top talent with expertise in 6G standardization at its Bengaluru office, and India has become Nokia’s third largest country for engagement in 6G standardization, Batra told PTI at Mobile World Congress here .

“We have already seen a moment in India to define the 6G spectrum. It is a very encouraging and progressive move by the government. In this case, I’m actually proud to say that she’s taking a progressive step above the rest the world is doing,” Batra said.

On November 1st, 2021, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) established a Technology Innovation Group on 6G (TIG-6G) with members from various ministries/departments, R&D institutions, telecom service providers and industry to share visions, missions and goals for 6G develop development of roadmaps and action plans for 6G in India.

The TIG-6G has six task forces with industry, academia, R&D institutions and government as members for multidisciplinary innovative solutions, next-generation cross-platform networks, spectrum for next-generation requirements, devices, contributions to international standards and research funding and development formed. according to an official publication earlier.

India is also contributing to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) in the 6G vision exercise, the press release added.

Asked about India’s progress on 5G and the strategic impact it is having on the company, Batra said Nokia’s manufacturing is now aligning with India.

“India is emerging as a major digital opportunity of this decade. From the 5G infrastructure to the application to the entire technology stack,” said Batra. Nokia India’s revenue increased by 25 percent to 1.29 billion euros in the December quarter of 2022 compared to 1.03 billion euros a year earlier.

India was the second youngest market for Nokia in the December quarter of 2022 due to the rapid rollout of 5G network. “There is so much excitement about India that you can’t even imagine. India got off to 5G late, but with a bang. If the same pace of adoption continues, that will keep us very busy for at least the next 2.5 to 4 years,” said Batra.

At Nokia headquarters, Batra is responsible for corporate strategy, technology architecture and breakthrough research at Nokia Bell Labs, Nokia’s information technology (IT) infrastructure and digitization initiatives, centralized security domains; and Nokia’s venture capital activities around the world.

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