New Delhi, Dec 8 (IANS): Finnish telecom gear maker Nokia on Tuesday said it has started manufacturing next-generation 5G equipments at its factory in Chennai.

The company which was the first to manufacture the 5G New Radio in the country is now producing the Nokia AirScale massive Multiple Input Multiple Output (mMIMO) solution.

Massive MIMO is a key element of 5G technology that delivers high capacity, especially in densely populated locations.

This equipment is already being exported to several countries which are in the advanced stages of 5G deployment.

"Our Chennai factory has emerged as a benchmark of India's manufacturing capabilities, bringing an entire range of telecom technology to operators in India and the rest of the world," said Sanjay Malik, Senior Vice President and Head of India Market, at Nokia.

"This will enable us to support Indian operators as they prepare to launch 5G".

Since its establishment in Chennai in 2008, Nokia has invested over Rs 600 crore in developing a best-in-class manufacturing facility which is spread over 140,000 square metres.

The Chennai factory has manufactured more than five million telecom network equipment units over the years, the company claimed.

In April this year, Bharti Airtel inked a $1 billion (nearly ?7,636 crore), multi-year deal with Nokia to deploy the Finnish majors 5G-ready solutions across nine circles in the country.

Nokia will help lay the foundation for providing 5G connectivity in the future by deploying 300,000 radio units across several spectrum bands in those circles expected to be completed by 2022.

As Covid-19 accelerates medium and long-term digital investment and value creation, 5G-enabled industries have the potential to add $8 trillion to global GDP by 2030, according to new research from Nokia.

The study, however, found that there is a gap between intentions and actions when it comes to any kind of 5G deployment for many companies.