Head of Planning and Warehouse

Nokia elevates Girish Mehta to Director and Head of NPO. Summarize with: New Delhi, Oct 15(APAC Media): Nokia has elevated Girish Mehta to Director and Head of Network Planning and Optimisation (NPO). Mehta has previously worked with Bharti Airtel Foundation and Ericsson India. His experience spans telecommunications and network technology, with his new role focused on network planning and optimisation. India parcel delivery In his new position, Mehta will focus on improving network planning, optimisation and operational efficiency. These functions help telecom operators manage network capacity, improve coverage and maintain service performance as demand for mobile connectivity grows. Network planning helps operators identify capacity requirements and expand coverage, while optimisation focuses on improving the performance of existing networks. Both areas are important for telecom companies seeking to deliver reliable connectivity and manage network resources efficiently. Mehta's experience at Ericsson India adds to his background in telecommunications and network technology. He has also worked with Bharti Airtel Foundation before taking up the leadership position at Nokia. Summarize with:

Strategic duality: Navigating HFC and DOCSIS upgrades toward a fiber- and PON-dominated future. An Omdia survey finds that demand for higher speeds, ongoing pressure to reduce operational costs and a changing competitive landscape are driving operators to consider new network approaches. Jim Hodges, Chief Analyst - Cloud and Security, Heavy Reading October 15, 2026 Sponsored by Nokia Hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) networks have provided scalable and cost-effective broadband for many years. However, the tremendous demand for higher speeds, ongoing pressure to reduce operational costs and a changing competitive landscape are driving cable operators and other HFC-based network operators to consider new approaches. They are pursuing two primary paths: upgrading their HFC network to increase broadband capabilities and deploying fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) networks. To gain insight into HFC operators' strategies and priorities, Omdia partnered with Nokia to create a 25-question global web-based survey. The findings are based on responses obtained in May 2026 from 83 employees who worked exclusively for cable operators, municipal service providers or electrical cooperatives. Upgrading HFC networks. Evolving HFC Data over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS)-based networks through software and hardware updates is not a new strategy, but it continues to be a relevant one - as confirmed in the survey results. While DOCSIS 3.1 and DOCSIS 3.1 Plus/Enhanced are currently the preferred upgrades, the survey results confirmed that DOCSIS 4.0 Extended Spectrum (ESD) at 39% and DOCSIS 4.0 Full Duplex (FDX) at 26% are emerging as strong options for future upgrades. Moreover, as captured in the figure below, these DOCSIS upgrade programs are following an accelerated path; 85% of the operators surveyed forecast they will complete their upgrade programs within the next 24 months. This data, as well as other data from the complete survey report, entitled HFC Evolution and the Rise of PON, reinforces that HFC operators are committed to protecting their investment and upgrading DOCSIS-based networks. When will you complete your DOCSIS upgrade program? Deploying PON. While committed to DOCSIS upgrades in the next 24 months, the survey also verified that HFC operators are looking beyond DOCSIS and taking a new path forward. The technology base that will drive this journey forward is passive optical network (PON). PON-based FTTP networks have emerged as the preferred future path because PON is already well-proven to be reliable, scalable and cost-effective to deploy. Similar to their accelerated DOCSIS upgrade path, HFC operators are adopting an aggressive stance on PON deployment, with 90% planning to deploy PON in brownfield networks and 97% in greenfield networks. In fact, 84% of operators have already started migrating some HFC subscribers to FTTP. Understanding PON variant preferences, with speeds ranging from 10Gbps to 50Gbps, was also a key research focus. With the exception of 50G PON, which is in a pre-commercial trial phase, 10G and 25G solutions are now generally available. Consistent with its maturity and broad availability, most network operators are currently deploying 10G solutions. Of these, XGS-PON is the most common approach. While 25G and 50G deployments will take time to scale, there is already significant interest in deployment. As shown in the table below, more than 9 out of 10 network operators are "currently deploying" (25G = 27%, 50G = 10%), "planning to deploy" (25G = 36%, 50G = 44%), or "considering deploying" (25G = 30%, 50G =39%). This leaves only 7% of operators with "no plans to deploy" either. What are your deployment plans for the following technologies on your FTTP network? The survey research also confirmed that HFC operators believe FTTP/PON will make them stronger on multiple levels. As captured in the figure below, operators believe that FTTP/PON will help them optimize their network, make them more competitive and generate new revenue. Network-centric drivers include future-proofing the network (33%), along with increased reliability/reduced network operational and maintenance costs (32%). The competitive factors include competition from fiber overbuilders (32%) and fixed wireless access (FWA) providers (25%). On the business side, the drivers are to offer new services or address new market segments (29%) and generate higher revenue per subscriber (29%). What are the main factors driving your company's FTTP/PON upgrade? (Select up to three). This blog is sponsored by Nokia. Chief Analyst - Cloud and Security, Heavy Reading Jim leads Heavy Reading's research on the impact of NFV on the control plane and application layers at the core and edge. This includes the evolution path of SIP applications, unified communications (UC), IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), session border controllers (SBCs), Diameter signaling controllers (DSCs), policy controllers and WebRTC. Jim is also focused on the network and subscriber impact of Big Data and Analytics. He authors Heavy Reading's NFV and SDN Market Trackers. Other areas of research coverage include Subscriber Data Management (SDM) and fixed-line TDM replacement. Jim joined Heavy Reading from Nortel Networks, where he tracked the VoIP and application server market landscape and was a key contributor to the development of Wireless Intelligent Network (WIN) standards. Additional technical experience was gained with Bell Canada, where he performed IN and SS7 network planning, numbering administration, technical model forecast creation and definition of regulatory-based interconnection models. Jim is based in Ottawa, Canada. Want more Light Reading stories in your Google search results? Join 62,000+ members. Yes it's completely free.

Eastlink completes state-of-the-art core mobile network upgrade. Oct 14, 2026, 10:30 ET The latest advancement in the company's more than $600M investment in its mobile service HALIFAX, NS, Oct. 14, 2026 /CNW/ - Eastlink announced today that the company has completed a multi-million dollar, state-of-the-art core mobile network transformation using Nokia 5G Standalone Core Technology and is committing another $12M to further network modernization including the addition of new sites across Atlantic Canada. "Since we launched our mobile service in 2013, we've worked hard to build and continuously strengthen a world-class network," said Jeff Gillham, CEO Eastlink. "This latest advancement, in partnership with Nokia, a global leader in critical network connectivity, not only meets today's increasing demand for capacity but it also positions us well for future growth. It reflects our ongoing commitment to deliver the best possible mobile experience with connectivity our customers rely on today and for years to come." "A modern, cloud-native core network is critical to delivering the performance, resilience and flexibility that operators need as mobile services continue to evolve," said Kal De, senior vice president, Core Networks, Nokia. "Eastlink's deployment of Nokia's 5G Standalone Core accelerates its ability to scale, introduce new capabilities and deliver a consistently high-quality customer experience." "This transformative core network deployment enables next generation capabilities ensuring the long-term reliability of our network by strengthening network performance and scalability. It lays the foundation for future innovation while supporting the advanced services our customers need and expect," said Steve Irvine, VP Engineering and CTO Eastlink. Over the past year, Eastlink has invested $30M in the expansion and modernization of its mobile services. "Our ongoing investments in radio network modernization and expansion includes new tower builds in more rural areas like East LaHave and New Germany in Nova Scotia, and Cornwall and New Glasgow in PEI, to name a few as well as additional in-building and rooftop sites, and small cell installations," explained Mr. Irvine. "Together, these investments are delivering faster and more reliable connectivity, reduced dropped calls, and broadened coverage - performance capabilities our customers count on every day." Eastlink has invested more than $600M in building, maintaining and upgrading its mobile network, systems and services across its Canadian footprint. Today, the company's network includes a total of over 1200 sites including standalone towers, colocations, rooftop and in-building sites, and small cell deployments with an additional 180 new sites in progress. About Eastlink Eastlink is a proud Canadian, family-owned technology and communications company. Powered by state-of-the-art fibre optic and mobile networks and driven by its core spirit of entrepreneurialism, Eastlink delivers world-class communications services, including high speed internet, mobile, TV, phone, and data services to residential to business and public sector customers in seven provinces across Canada and Bermuda. Recognized as one of Canada's Best Managed Companies, Eastlink shares local and regional stories on Community TV about the people, places and events that shape the communities it serves. About Nokia Nokia is a global leader in connectivity infrastructure, enabling the AI supercycle. We build networks that connect intelligence and deliver a comprehensive connectivity solution across fixed, mobile, IP, optical, core, and data center networks. With security by design, AI-driven innovation, and AI-optimized architecture, Nokia delivers trusted infrastructure that enables AI to scale and advances connectivity to secure a brighter world. SOURCE EastLink Media Contact: Jill Laing, Director Public Affairs, e. [email protected], c. 902.488.5283