Nokia ties up with Airtel, BSNL to lay ground for 5G

While Finland's Nokia makes a comeback in the mobile handset space, it is also planning to roll out 5G connectivity in India along with Bharti Airtel and state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL).

The Economic Times reports that Nokia has signed memorandums of understanding with Airtel and BSNL.

Sanjay Malik, head of India market at Nokia, told the paper that the idea behind these pacts is to introduce 5G in the country and see what steps are required for this. He said that this is more of a preparatory phase for getting into 5G.

Nokia is also setting up an experience centre within its R&D centre in Bengaluru to understand stakeholder requirements for 5G in India and push towards the adoption of the new technology in the country.

5G is expected to launch in developed countries by 2020 and in India by 2022. As the penetration of 4G in the Indian market has been tepid, there is much scepticism towards the adoption of 5G in India.

Despite the pessimistic outlook, mobile companies, telecom operators and the Centre are working to ensure that India comes on board the 5G bandwagon in line with the world.

From the sidelines of the World Mobile Congress, Samsung and Reliance Jio had earlier announced that they together plan to bring 5G network to India and Telecom Secretary J S Deepak had said, "We were late in 3G and 4G and we are very keen that India should not be deprived of 5G. It is not only a communication issue, it is a productivity issue for industry. It has wider applications in smart cities and grids and all kinds of things."