The contract could be signed as early as Thursday in
Helsinki, Finland, where Nokia is headquartered, the report added. Jio and
Nokia did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for a comment.
The telecom of arm of Reliance Industries snapped up
airwaves worth $11 billion in a 5G spectrum auction last August and had
launched 5G services in several cities. It is also working with Alphabet's
Google to launch a budget 5G smartphone.
The Economic Times said that HSBC, JP Morgan and Citigroup
are among those backing Jio's 5G-related purchases, while European export
credit agency Finnvera will be issuing guarantees to the lenders to extend
offshore loans to Jio.
Swedish telecommunication company Ericsson had in October
last year, announced a partnership with Jio to build a 5G standalone network in
India.
Earlier this week, Jio announced the launch of a 4G-feature
phone in an attempt to reach those who have not yet migrated to smartphones,
although analysts said the move was unlikely to disrupt the Indian telecom
market. Back in August last year, Jio emerged as the biggest spender in India's
$19 billion 5G spectrum auction, with the top telco player winning airwaves
worth $11 billion.
In December 2022, Counterpoint Research said that India's 5G
smartphone shipments will exceed that of 4G shipments by the end of 2023,
driven by the mass adoption of the high-speed network and the rise in the sale
of handsets in the lower-price bands.
5G data speed in India is expected to be about 10 times
faster than that of 4G, with the network seen as vital for emerging
technologies like self-driving cars and artificial intelligence. © Reuters
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