Less than a year after global telecommunications company Nokia unveiled plans to begin making some of its products in Pleasant Prairie, optical line terminal (OLT) cards have officially started rolling off the manufacturing line.

The Nokia devices, which are critical to fiber networks as they ensure the transfer of broadband data, are being made at Sanmina’s Pleasant Prairie facility. Nokia currently powers 70% of fiber broadband lines in North America.

San Jose, California-based Sanmina is an electronics manufacturer that serves OEMs in the communications and hardware fields.

By manufacturing its products in Pleasant Prairie, Nokia is the first company to make products that will be used in the United States’ Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program.

The BEAD program aims to narrow the digital divide across the U.S. and contribute to economic growth and job creation. Vice President Kamala Harris visited the Sanmina facility last August to tout the benefits of the BEAD program.

“It has been an exciting journey working alongside Nokia to produce the critical fiber-optic technology that will help power the broadband networks of the future,” said Charlie Mason, executive vice president of worldwide sales at Sanmina. “Drawing on more than 40 years of manufacturing experience in the U.S., our team was able to ramp up production in record time and deliver quality products that meet both Nokia’s and NTIA’s Buy America requirements.”

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