Telecom equipment maker Nokia announced on Thursday that it will expand production of PON Optical Line Terminals (OLTs) to its Sriperimbudur factory near Chennai to meet increasing demand from local customers in India and global markets. PON stands for Passive Optical Network.
In a statement announcing the latest move, Nokia These shifts in consumer behavior, from working from home to data-rich entertainment services, are driving demand for broadband.
“This demand is complemented by strong institutional support, with significant funding from governments and private equity funds around the world driving investments in broadband and fiber connectivity,” the company said.
Nokia is currently participating in the government’s Production Related Incentive (PLI) scheme and is expanding its production capacity in response to growing demand from Chennai.
Fiber demand is also shifting to new regions, with the Asia Pacific region seeing strong demand in markets such as Japan, India and Southeast Asia.
Much of this demand is seen in the form of Fiber to the Home (FTTH), but there is also significant demand from Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) in its deployment 5G and require next-generation optical fibers in their transport networks to handle the expected increase in data traffic. “Nokia’s planned production of PON-OLTs in India will give a boost to the expansion of the company’s manufacturing base and geographic reach,” it said.
Sanjay Malik, senior vice president and head of the Indian market at Nokia, noted that India is seeing massive demand for fiber connectivity from both fixed and mobile operators.
“OLT production at our Chennai facility will provide a timely boost to meet this demand in a timely manner. Service providers in India will benefit from the increased availability of both the existing Lightspan product lines and the upcoming GPON access nodes, which will use smaller, lower density OLTs to address a range of conditions and requirements,” added Malik.
