PM Modi and Nokia CEO Meet in Delhi to Discuss India’s Journey into 5G Network Services

Nokia to lead the 5G network for India soon, as Nokia CEO Pekka Lundmark met PM Narendra Modi for talks and discussions on digital transformation.

Written by: Arjita Gupta

Edited by: Krutarth Ghosalkar

Last Updated: March 14, 2023

On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Pekka Lundmark, the Nokia CEO. PM Modi tweeted that the meeting with Mr. Pekka Lundmark was fruitful and that there were talks on leveraging technology for the good of society as well as next-generation digital infrastructure. Lundmark expressed on Twitter that it is a privilege to meet the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi to discuss how Nokia will contribute to the 5G journey for the nation.

They will also discuss how Nokia will support 6G ambitions for India in the next phase of digital transformation. Amit Marwah, the Chief Marketing Officer of Nokia India said in an interview that they have a leadership position across the world in private networks. They have beyond 500 deployments around the world. There is a similar trend in India as globally for the business to grow fast.

Nokia intends to get past its competitors and lead the Indian market for private 5G networks by deploying more than 2,400 sites in India by 2027. By 2027, Indian investments are estimated to be $240-250 million in private wireless networks. This fact is as per February 2023 Nokia Mobile Broadband Index report. In an upcoming couple of quarters, the first few private networks will mostly come up in the segments of manufacturing, utilities, healthcare, and transportation.

These segments are expected to have the largest share of enterprise investments. The administrative allocation and strategy are yet to be finalized by the government for giving out 5G airwaves to 5G networks. They have to decide on the pricing of the airwaves and bands as well before calling for an auction.