Veijo Kontas, the Nokia System-on-Chip guru credited with designing chips for over three billion devices and often called the man who saved Nokia’s network business, has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Oulu. Kontas, who has spent nearly 40 years in the region and established two sponsored SoC professorships, emphasizes that while digitalization and AI are major trends, continued investment in telecommunications and microchip design is essential for future skilled workforces. He notes that 4G capabilities are waning in major cities and 5G will serve until approximately 2027 or 2028, necessitating the development of 6G to meet future capacity demands. According to Kontas, Nokia is advancing 6G efforts at full speed with a projected commercial market launch in mid-2029, a timeline that relies heavily on the R&D capabilities centered in Oulu.
Source: https://www.6gflagship.com/news/nokias-soc-guru-veijo-kontas-made-honorary-doctor/
Keywords: System-on-Chip, microchip design, 6G commercial launch, R&D center, mobile network innovation