Nokia opens 6G lab in Bengaluru, India

Nokia has announced that it has established a 6G lab at its global R&D centre in Bengaluru (Bangalore), India, in a project which aims to accelerate the development of fundamental technologies and innovative use cases underpinned by 6G technology that will address the future needs of both industry and society. The lab was inaugurated virtually by the Indian Minister of Railways, Communications, Electronics & IT, Ashwini Vaishnaw.

Nokia is a pioneer in 6G work and is engaged in several global projects and regional initiatives with industry peers, customers, academia and research institutions, in order to form a common view and direction for 6G. The 6G lab will support the Government of India’s ‘Bharat 6G Vision’, introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which envisions a key global role for India in the standardisation, development and implementation of 6G technology.

The lab will enable collaboration between industry stakeholders; provide an experimental platform for researching algorithms, privacy and sustainable system design; and facilitate the testing of innovative solutions while establishing their potential for commercialisation. Key research areas will include foundational 6G technologies like network as a sensor, network exposure and automation.

Network-as-a-sensor technology enables the network to sense objects, people and movement without the need for onboard sensors. In the 6G era, network as a sensor has been identified as a key enabling technology that supports the vision of bringing the digital and physical worlds together. Sensing will be fully integrated into the wireless network and operate simultaneously with communication services. This has the potential to enable people to see around corners, gather information about their surroundings and even interact with objects at a distance.

“The inauguration of the Nokia 6G research lab in Bengaluru today is another step towards PM Narendra Modi’s vision of making India an innovation hub,” Vaishnaw said. “Interesting use cases coming out of this lab will be related to transportation safety, health care and education, which will be another big contribution in the entire Digital India suite.”

Nishant Batra, Chief Strategy and Technology Officer at Nokia, added, “Nokia is honoured to contribute towards the realisation of the Indian Government’s Bharat 6G vision. We look forward to collaborating with key stakeholders to help India become a major player in 6G technology development and adoption, and take its place in the global arena as a leading developer and supplier of advanced telecom technologies and solutions.”

Experts at the Bengaluru R&D centre will support India’s ambition to make notable contributions towards global 6G technology standards. Furthermore, Nokia is in the process of building research collaborations with premier research institutes, like the Indian Institute of Science and Indian Institutes of Technology, to further scale up the 6G research initiative in India.

Image credit: iStock.com/tanit boonruen