Nokia and TATA Play Fiber partner to launch India’s first WiFi 6-ready broadband network

Nokia has joined forces with TATA Play Fiber to launch India's first WiFi 6-ready broadband network to address the growing demand for new, high-capacity broadband connections.

The partnership will see Nokia supplying TATA Play Fiber with a range of fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) and Wi-Fi gear to support its broadband network expansion across the country. More specifically, the Finnish form will provide its leading Optical Line Terminal (OLT) and optical Network Terminal (ONT) with Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi mesh Beacons.

Wi-Fi 6 will allow Tata Play Fiber to deliver differentiated services and a rich, indoor user experience for its customers. The easy-to-install intelligent mesh Wi-Fi 6 solution supports low-latency applications such as gaming and can deliver gigabit speeds to multiple devices on the Wi-Fi network whilst enhancing network security with WPA3 support.

Vinish Bawa, Head of Enterprise, Webscale & Emerging business, India, at Nokia, said, "Nokia has been the world leader in optical line terminal (OLT) technologies, and we are proud to be a close partner for Tata Play Fiber in India. This deal is an extension of the work we have already done together and will also notch up a first for India by upgrading the network to be WiFi 6-ready.

The Nokia solution features Mesh technology that ensures seamless coverage for large customer premises and areas with barriers like concrete walls. Nokia's WiFi 6 mesh technology is ideal for residential homes with large and/or multi-floor spaces, as well as for SOHO enterprise customers, which represent a large addressable market in India.

Notably, the WiFi 6 solution leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning software to identify traffic patterns, faults and potential outages in the GPON network in order to optimize the end-user experience.

Commenting on this collaboration, Anand N Sahai, CEO at Tata Play Fiber, said, "Our partnership with Nokia allows us to bring Wifi 6-ready network to our customers - which is a first in the category. The deployment of this next-generation best-in-class optical networking solution will boost up speed & coverage for multiple smart gadgets in all tech-dependent homes and enterprises."