Nokia expands production of fiber optic broadband equipment to India amid growing demand from local customers

Telecom equipment maker Nokia said on Thursday it will expand manufacturing of PON optical line terminals (OLTs) at its plant in Sriperimbudur near Chennai to meet growing demand from local customers in India and global markets. . PON stands for Passive Optical Network.

In a statement announcing the latest decision, Nokia said changes in consumer behavior, from working from home to data-rich entertainment services, were driving demand for broadband.

“This demand comes with strong institutional support with significant funding from governments and private equity funds around the world driving investment in broadband and fiber connectivity,” according to the company.

Nokia is currently participating in the government’s Production Linked Incentives (PLI) program and is expanding its production capacity in Chennai in response to growing demand.

Fiber demand is also shifting to new regions, with the Asia-Pacific region seeing strong demand in markets like Japan, India and Southeast Asia.

Much of this demand will be seen in the form of fiber to the home (FTTH), but there is also significant demand from mobile network operators (MNOs) as they roll out 5G and need next-generation fiber in their transport networks to support the expected increase. in data traffic. “Nokia’s planned production of OLT PON in India will provide a boost to expand the company’s production base and geographic reach,” he said.

Sanjay Malik, Senior Vice President and Head of India Market at Nokia, observed that India is seeing massive demand for fiber connectivity from fixed and mobile operators.

“OLT production at our Chennai factory will provide a timely boost to meet this demand in a timely manner. Service providers in India will benefit from the increased availability of existing Lightspan product lines as well as upcoming GPON access, which offer smaller density OLTs to meet a range of conditions and requirements,” added Malik.