Nokia expands its comprehensive portfolio of broadband technology products and solutions to provide operators with greater flexibility to meet consumer demand and improve the performance of mobile networks as they evolve to 5G.
As mobile broadband traffic continues to grow, operators want to improve network performance where they see high demand – typically first deployments in dynamic urban centers.
Increased capacity, higher throughput and variable network latency are required to meet consumer, business and Internet of Things (IoT) demand and ensure a smooth transition to 5G. To this end, Nokia has defined a viable network evolution strategy that will enable operators to leverage existing investments and maximize resources such as spectrum, to increase performance where and when needed in the network.
To do this, Nokia is expanding its portfolio of AirScale distributed RF heads, enabling operators to increase maximum cell performance and capacity while reducing space requirements at cellular sites via new single- and dual-band FDD-LTE and TD-LTE radio solutions.
These solutions are based on carrier aggregation technologies, MIMO 4×4 and Beamforming 8×4. They also meet the demand for higher transmission power, expand support for frequency bands and simplify network deployments.
To intensify the deployment of heterogeneous networks and increase the coverage and capacity of the most frequented locations – especially in very dense urban environments – operators will have to deploy a new wave of small cells. Self-Organizing Network (SON) features on Flexi Zone small cells will simplify ultra-dense network deployments, providing solutions to problems caused by the reduced distance between existing and new small cells, and ensuring continuous optimization as densification continues.
Nokia has extended its SON functionality on its Femtocell product line to ensure smooth integration and increased performance in heterogeneous networks when unloading traffic on the macro network.
The new features of the first Nokia Flexi Zone CBRS small cells, which support Spectrum Access Server (SAS) and Citizen Broadband Radio Service Device Proxy connectivity, will provide operators with new options to increase coverage and capacity, especially inside buildings. CBRS Flexi Zone small cells can be used to deploy host-independent capabilities, allowing operators to lease capacity to other suppliers in shopping malls, hotels and office buildings where space is limited. By FCC requirements, small cells will be able to effectively communicate with the SAS server to verify that the network uses only the available shared CBRS spectrum.
To ensure the flexibility of wireless backhauling in heterogeneous and ultra-dense urban networks – which use microwave beam transport to connect small cells to fiber access points – Nokia Wavence Microwave solutions now support operator SDNs. Operators will benefit from new intelligence and a new level of automation: faster start-up of virtual network functions and adaptable settings to accommodate changes in the radio access network, for example when users move from their offices to their homes.
These multi-technology access solutions are anchored in the Nokia Cloud Packet Core solution. Its native cloud features and operations deliver the performance operators need to provide diverse, demanding and cost-effective applications and services: increased capacity, the large-scale scalability required for network densification, and the deployment flexibility required to deliver low latency.
Nokia continues to help operators plan and optimize their migration to 5G with its 5G Acceleration Services offering and expands its portfolio to include a complete “any haul” transportation offering. Nokia will work with operators to assess the state of their network and design and implement their 5G strategies and services.
We fully understand how changes to individual network elements can affect the network as a whole. And to develop our complete range of products.