Nokia in talks with Indian telcos for rural 4G expansion

NEW DELHI: Finnish telecom gear maker Nokia is in talks with Indian telcos for supply deals around their respective 4G network expansion in rural areas, having already secured 13% more contracts in the first half of 2019 compared with a year earlier, its top official in the country said.
“Our discussions are happening with telcos for rural expansion which is in line with the DoT’s plan to connect over 40,000 villages by 2022. All telcos are now looking to expand revenue and user bases, hence eyes on rural expansion…this will happen before commercial 5G rollout,” Sanjay Malik, head of Nokia India, told ET.
Malik said that despite the ongoing financial stress in the telecom industry, Nokia has managed to secure 61 new contracts from telcos, internet service providers (ISPs), cable operators and enterprises in the first half of 2019 as compared to 54 contracts in the first half of 2018.