Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) has agreed to manufacture LTE base stations in cooperation with two Russian firms under a joint venture deal. The first units are expected to be produced later this year, with eventual production levels reaching around 10,000 base stations per year.
NSN said that the agreement was signed with the state-owned nanotechnology company Rusnano, the manufacturing firm Mikran and the Tomsk Oblast Administration prior to a conference hosted by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in Tomsk, where the factory will be located.
Anatoly Chubais, the chairman of the board of Rusnano, said that the JV illustrated the momentum that high technology was gaining within the country's economy. He added, according to a report by Wireless Federation, that this transfer of technology from one of the world's leading telecoms companies made this project especially interesting. "Moreover, it offered Russian manufacturers a chance to become vendors of the latest equipment for 4G telecom networks," he said.
Commenting on the JV, NSN's general director in Russia, Kristina Tikhonova, said that the agreement "indicated the strategic importance of the Russian market for NSN." Tikhonova added that Russian government support for R&D, engineering and production was significant, and work was already underway to build localised manufacturing and support services for the project.
For more:
- see this Wireless Federation article
- see this Prime Tass article
- see this Telecom Paper article
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