While Indian telecom operators have completed the rollout of the 5G network across the country, Nokia sees demand for equipment to be substantial in 2024-25, a senior company official said.

The proliferation of fixed wireless access networks will usher the Indian telecom sector into the second phase of 5G network deployment, Nokia India’s head of mobile networks business Tarun Chhabra said at the India Mobile Congress.

“India’s requirement is still going to be substantial in 2024-25, then our factories will be fully loaded with India plus some exports,” Chhabra said.

Nokia has recorded multi-fold growth in its telecom gear business in India on account of rapid 5G network deployment, PTI reported from New Delhi.

In the third quarter financial report, Nokia CEO Pekka Lundmark said the business continued to benefit from 5G deployments in India, where net sales more than doubled year-on-year, but sales volume moderated significantly on a sequential basis as the pace of deployment has started to normalize.

Chhabra said Nokia will increase exports from India if demand tapers, but he expects the growth momentum in the country to continue.

“Fixed wireless Access (FWA) is one big thing that can actually require a lot of data thrusting and then operators will have to deploy more networks. I would say this is Phase One. Once there is a new use case coming up, more subscribers being added, then there’s going to be more demand for network capacity, which is also going to have an impact on the second phase of 5G deployment,” Chhabra said.

The FWA technology is helping mobile operators connect new homes without laying optical fiber cable and provide high-speed broadband to homes.

Chhabra said that use cases in ports, manufacturing, defense railways, etc. have the potential to provide monetisation opportunities to telecom operators.