Network devices from Nokia to Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio for their 5G networks from their factory in Chennai.
Vodafone Idea has not yet finalized its contract pending new funding.
“We’ve been preparing for the launch of 5G in India for over a year, whether it’s provoking our employees, scaling up production or hiring the right talent.
“With massive demand for appliances coming from India, we will want to increase production to meet this requirement.
“We can imagine 1. 5 times greater production capacity in the coming years,” Chhabra said on the sidelines of India’s Mobile Congress.
“We have invested more than Rs 600 crore to manufacture telecommunications products worth Rs 3500 crore a year, with more than Rs 50 crore for export,” Chhabra said.
Work to expand the Chennai production plant is already underway and more production will be added to the plant.
Acceleration is expected from the first quarter of CY23 and will increase to 1. 5 times the existing level, depending on needs.
Bharti Airtel has already introduced 5G in 8 cities and aims to expand the policy across India until March 2024.
Reliance Jio will begin its Diwali metro deployment and expand the nationwide network until December 2023.
The country’s 5G rollout is expected to be one of the fastest in the world with rates and people’s preference for adopting the new technology.
India is expected to have more than 300 million 5G subscribers by the end of 2026.
The Covid pandemic has also accelerated the use of automation at Nokia, making integration and software updates faster than usual.
While the sites are installed on-site, they are incorporated into the remote network in a central location, saving time and money.
“Our goal is to automate to be more efficient,” Chhabra said.