Reliance Jio picks Nokia as a 5G equipment provider in a multi-year deal

Jio has selected Nokia as a major supplier as it prepares to roll out next-generation wireless services throughout the nation. In a multi-year agreement, Nokia will provide 5G radio access network equipment to Reliance Jio, which has more than 420 million consumers, the company said in a statement.

In order to handle various frequency bands and self-organizing network software, Nokia will provide base stations, high-capacity 5G Massive MIMO antennas, and Remote Radio Heads, the company added.

The network is viewed as essential for upcoming technologies like self-driving cars and artificial intelligence, and 5G data speeds in India are anticipated to be around 10 times faster than those of 4G. In an August $19 billion 5G spectrum auction, Reliance paid $11 billion for airwaves and has already started offering 5G services in a few towns. In order to release a low-cost 5G smartphone, it is also collaborating with Alphabet Inc.’s Google.

The government is pressuring leading mobile phone manufacturers, including Apple Inc., Samsung, and others, to prioritize releasing software upgrades to support 5G amid worries that many of their models aren’t prepared for the high-speed service. This is happening as India’s telecom service providers roll out 5G services.

At a time when various countries, including India, have either prohibited or discouraged the use of China’s Huawei in national networks, the Reliance-Nokia agreement seems timely.

According to the news sources, citing sources, Reliance Jio is looking to obtain an extra $1.5 billion through external commercial borrowings to support its 5G capital spending ambitions.