Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL) has announced plans to upgrade and expand its optical transport network across key metro and circle locations in India.
The upgrade is based on Nokia optical switching technology to primarily ensure their readiness to deliver multi-terabit data growth and support upcoming quantum-safe services for their enterprise customers.
It’s also designed to increase the company’s capacity, supporting 4G data growth. In addition, Nokia’s equipment will look to modernise the network, providing flexibility and efficiency, and boost VIL’s roll-out of 5G infrastructure.
Among the optical suite of products deployed to enable this network overhaul include the 1830 Photonic Service Switch platform, and its CDC-F 2.0 wavelength switching technologies.
Nokia has also deployed its photonic service engine, super-coherent optics, industry-leading dense wavelength division multiplexing and optical transport network to ensure VIL’s customers continue to experience high levels of connectivity even during peak usage times.
By deploying its offering, Nokia said VIL will also be able to scale its network efficiently from C-band to C+L band as required, avoiding the need for any forklift changes in platform or architecture, and perhaps most importantly, leading to reduced operational costs. The project is also said to prioritise sustainability, incorporating energy-efficient services and automation-enabled deployment processes to minimise the carbon footprint.
“Nokia’s innovative optical solutions align perfectly with our goal to enhance customer experience and ensure robust network readiness for future demands,” said Jagbir Singh, chief technology officer at Vodafone Idea. “With Nokia’s advanced optical network solutions, we are excited to build an agile, high-capacity and future-ready network that will support India’s digital transformation and drive innovation across sectors.”
As Nokia was announcing the contract win with VIL, it also revealed it had reached agreement with Amazon in a patents dispute regarding the use of its video technologies in Amazon’s streaming services and devices.
The dispute began in October 2023, and Nokia suggested Amazon Prime Video and Amazon’s streaming devices infringed a mix of Nokia’s multimedia patents covering multiple technologies, including video compression, content delivery, content recommendation and aspects related to hardware.
Cases have been filed in the US, Germany, India, the UK and the European Unified Patent Court. Separately, it also filed cases in the US against HP for what was said to be the unauthorised use of Nokia’s patented video-related technologies in their devices.
Commenting on the litigation at the time, Arvin Patel, chief licensing officer of new segments at Nokia, said: “I want to stress that litigation is never our first choice. The vast majority of our patent licensing agreements are agreed amicably. To put this into context, since 2017, we have concluded or extended over 250 licenses – including amicable licenses with Apple and Samsung – and launched just six litigation campaigns.”
The exact terms, including the financial terms, of the agreement between Nokia and Amazon have not been revealed by either party as part of their settlement, but they do resolve all patent litigation between the parties, in all jurisdictions.
“We are pleased to have reached agreement on the use of Nokia’s video technologies in Amazon’s streaming services and devices,” said Patel.
