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Tag: nokia

  • Docomo, Nokia testing 5G NR in 90-GHz band

    Docomo, Nokia testing 5G NR in 90-GHz band

    Japan’s NTT Docomo and Nokia are performing joint 5G technology trials using extremely high frequency 90-GHz millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum.

    At the Brooklyn 5G Summit in New York this week, the companies are demonstrating the use of a Nokia Bell Labs-developed compact mmWave phased-array antenna system using an integrated circuit solution in the 90-GHz frequency band.

    The demonstration aims to show how using 5G new radio enhancements at higher mmWave bands can manage radio complexity while enabling greater bandwidth.

    Meanwhile using a larger number of antenna elements at higher frequency bands can minimize path loss to enable coverage similar to that found in lower mmWave bands, Nokia said.

    The companies also conducted a joint demonstration to show how dynamic offloading relocation in a 5G core will enable the low-latency networks required to support time critical mobile broadband applications such as automation and augmented reality.

    Nokia and Docomo have pledged to continue to test these technologies at Docomo’s research lab at the Yokosuka Research Park in Japan.

    “These demonstrations at the Brooklyn 5G Summit build on a long collaboration with Nokia,” Docomo CTO Hiroshi Nakamura said.

    “Working together, we want to accelerate the evolution of 5G technologies especially towards pioneering higher frequency bands such as 90 GHz.”

  • KDDI, Nokia trial eMBMS for connected vehicles

    KDDI, Nokia trial eMBMS for connected vehicles

    Japan’s KDDI and Nokia have completed trials of LTE connected vehicle applications including the first vehicle based LTE broadcast trial.

    During a trial on the island of Hokkaido, the companies implemented evolved multimedia broadcast multicast service (eMBMS) technology for two in-vehicle applications.

    These included vehicle-to-network-to-vehicle connectivity, allowing cars to stay in constant contact with a Nokia-based multi-access edge computing (MEC) platform, sending real-time location, direction and speed data to roadside sensors.

    The proof of concept allows drivers to alert the application and allow information to be distributed to other vehicles using eMBMS.

    In addition, eMBMS was applied in a network real-time kinematic (network RTK) trial of LTE for enhance fully automated in-vehicle navigation, demonstrating how eMBMS could more cost-efficiently use existing geo-location systems to communicate to many vehicles in real-time.

    The companies said the trials are a step towards preparing the car industry for the introduction of 5G-based automated vehicles.

    “We are pleased to work with Nokia to demonstrate our leadership in the delivery of mobile networks for IoT and connected car communications,” added Munefumi Tsurusawa, general manager of the connected vehicle technology department and KDDI’s technical planning division.

    “This is an important trial showing how the automotive industry can leverage cellular technology to enhance safety of connect vehicles on the roads.”

  • Telenor Pakistan taps Nokia to manage network

    Telenor Pakistan taps Nokia to manage network

    Telenor Pakistan has contracted Nokia to expand and modernize its network based on a new customer centric network operating model.

    Under the terms of the deal, Nokia will manage the complete multi-vendor network operations for Telenor Pakistan using the Nokia Global Service Delivery Tools.

    Nokia will also deploy its AVA cognitive services platform to enable predictive and customer-centric approaches to network planning, optimization, operations and maintenance.

    Nokia’s cognitive analytics for customer insight software will also help Telenor Pakistan prioritize network investments based on insights collected from customers, using a combination of cloud service delivery, intelligent analytics and automation.

    Under the new operating model, 233 engineers and technology experts from Telenor Pakistan will work with Nokia to develop new ways of delivering services. Telenor Pakistan will increase its focus on network governance strategy while Nokia will exclusively manage field operations.

    “The decision to onboard Nokia is in line with Telenor Pakistan’s ongoing strategy for network expansion, transformation and virtualization,” Telenor Pakistan CTO Khurrum Ashfaque said.

    “Our ambition is to set up data ready operations by bringing capabilities of automation, intelligent field operation, smart planning and customer insights with new and advanced tools which we shall leverage through our new global partner.”

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  • Nokia to build new OTN for China Mobile

    Nokia to build new OTN for China Mobile

    Nokia announced that it will be providing China Mobile with an optical transport network that will enable the operator to become 5G-ready.

    China Mobile is currently building a new optical transport network that will support improved data center interconnection, consumer broadband services and 4G backhaul. Looking ahead, the new optical backbone will be a key part of the next-generation mobile services, namely 5G.

    “We are very pleased to work closely with China Mobile to provide the optical technology for its most advanced networks today and in the future. We’ll continue to fulfill our mission by making people’s life easier as we create the technologies that connect the world,” said Yu Xiaohan, head of the China Mobile customer team at Nokia Shanghai Bell, in a press release.

    Nokia described its solution as a dynamic, programmable optical network that can support virtualization and cloud technologies associated with 5G.

    According to Kyle Hollasch, head of marketing for Nokia’s optical business, China is the fastest growing region in the optical market.

    “As the only non-Chinese vendor with significant market share in China, Nokia is thrilled to be part of this strategic build-out for China Mobile,” Hollasch said in a statement.

    Nokia’s aspirations in China are well known. At Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018 in Barcelona, Nokia CEO Rajeev Suri highlighted the race to 5G, saying it’s a battle between the US and China in terms of who gets there first. Both China and the US will move fast and they will be well ahead of pretty much every other part of the world, he said.

    Nokia and China Mobile used the MWC event to announce that they had signed an agreement under which the companies are jointly investigating how China Mobile can extend its service offerings for vertical markets using 5G. Their research is focused on how industries can benefit from the growth of smart cities, smart transportation and intelligent video analytics.

    The companies also are jointly testing use cases using Nokia 5G Future X network architecture as well as NB-IoT and MEC, and they’re expanding an existing Car2X trial ecosystem in Wuzhen to advance the use of automated vehicles, as well as technologies that improve vehicle safety.

    Nokia’s Nuage Networks was chosen by China Mobile (Suzhou) Software Technical Company, a subsidiary of China Mobile, as the SDN platform for China Mobile’s public and private enterprise cloud services offering. The platform is based on the Nuage Networks VSP and includes cloud implementations on virtual machines, Kubernetes (K8S) containers and OpenStack Ironic-based bare metal servers.

    Last year, China Unicom said it would use the Nokia Flexi Zone portfolio to densify its network where it isn’t possible to add a macro base station due to space or cost constraints.

  • Nokia wins 5G supply deal with NTT DoCoMo

    Nokia wins 5G supply deal with NTT DoCoMo

    Japan’s NTT DoCoMo has contracted Nokia to supply 5G baseband products to support the operator’s goal of commercially deploying a 5G network by 2020.

    Under the deal, Nokia will integrate its 5G new radio based AirScale hardware into Nokia’s network and further enhancing existing baseband units.

    DoCoMo and Nokia have been collaborating closely on 5G trials and have now agreed on supply of Nokia 5G baseband units to support centralized management for 5G remote radio heads, supporting the evolution of the DoCoMo network from LTE to 5G.

    “We have been collaborating with partners such as Nokia on various 5G technology and use case trials since 2014. With this agreement with Nokia, we are now proceeding to the next step to launch 5G mobile services by 2020, and accelerate co-creation of new services and businesses with vertical industry partners,” DoCoMo CTO Hiroshi Nakamura said.

    Nokia is currently focused on applying the 3GPP-compliant 5G new radio standard in customer trials ahead of expected commercial launches between 2019 and 2020. The first stage of the 5G new radio standard was published in late 2017.

  • Hybrid Smartwatches to Make Up Over 50% of Smartwatch Shipments by 2022

    Hybrid Smartwatches to Make Up Over 50% of Smartwatch Shipments by 2022

    Watches that appear to be analogue models but integrate smartwatch features will make up more than half of the smartwatch market by 2022, according to Juniper Research.

    This means that nearly 80 million hybrid smartwatches, such as Fossil Q and Nokia Steel, will be shipped by 2022, up 460 per cent from an estimated 14 million last year. However, for digital-display smartwatches like Apple Watch and Fitbit Ionic, Juniper lowers the rate of growth to 160 per cent.

    This slower growth has caused several manufacturers, including Huawei, Motorola and Sony, to leave the space, says Juniper’s new report, Smartwatches: Trends, Vendor Strategies & Forecasts 2018-2022. Those staying in play are pivoting toward specific uses, mainly fitness, which Apple, Casio, Samsung and others have emphasised in recent releases.

    “The smartwatch market is refining itself into a series of specific-use cases”, says research author James Moar. “This is having an impact on every aspect of smartwatches, from their design for increasingly specialised uses to their sale through specific retailers. While most vendors cannot necessarily hope to reach a broad coverage, the industry as a whole is here to stay.”

    Despite the renewed interest in hybrids, Juniper expects individual players to produce few smartwatches. Hybrid watch manufacturers generally ship fewer than 2 million units annually.

    An exception is Fossil, which has released many display and hybrid smartwatches. It is forecast to ship more than 6 million smartwatches annually by 2020.

    Meanwhile, the report has found that different connectivity technologies are becoming more prevalent for smartwatches, with GPS expected to be an element for nearly half of all smartwatches by 2022. In comparison, growth will be limited for near-field communication NFC technology as this is currently locked into specific ecosystems. Juniper does not foresee any change to this in the foreseeable future.

    Juniper Research provides research and analytical services for the global hi-tech communications sector, and has also just issued a complimentary white paper for vendors, Why Most Smartwatches ‘Fail’.

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  • Nokia launches 5G-ready Smart Plan Suite

    Nokia launches 5G-ready Smart Plan Suite

    Nokia has launched a new real-time charging, policy control and customer engagement suite specifically designed for advanced digital experiences.

    The cloud-native, 5G-ready Nokia Smart Plan Suite uses continuous delivery principles and DevOps automation to stay constantly updated with the latest capabilities.

    The suite is designed to allow service providers to deliver personalized and contextualized offers to enhance subscribers’ digital experiences, and can integrate with webscale offerings including Google’s Mobile Data Plan Sharing API.

    It forms part of a wider monetization portfolio covering mediation, digital sales, real-time decision making and machine learning powered analytics software. Nokiaasserts that the portfolio can help operators increase subscriber campaign take-up rates by more than 400%.

    Nokia president of applications and analytics Bhaskar Gorti said the portfolio is designed to allow operators to engage with their customers in ‘digital time’.

    “This means delivering the right service through the right channel the moment they need it. We do this by providing ‘connected intelligence’ — we connect insights, people, processes and technologies to help service providers monetize their services, push the limits of automation and delight their customers,” he said.

    “Service providers need a new approach if they are to deliver the personalized, contextualized and immediate experiences consumers have become accustomed to from leading webscale companies. Most revenue management systems in use within telcos today are monolithic in nature and weren’t designed to support such modern experiences,” Analysys Mason senior analyst John Abraham commented.

    “The industry needs to adopt a different approach, and solutions based on a cloud-native architecture such as Nokia’s Smart Plan Suite are key to helping CSPs cross the chasm in enabling a new class of innovative and engaging customer experiences.”

  • Nokia launches carrier-grade home Wi-Fi suite

    Nokia launches carrier-grade home Wi-Fi suite

    The product portfolio will consist of a line of Wi-Fi gateways and extenders for operators to offer their customers to improve the user experience and decrease Wi-Fi related support costs.

    Operators will be able to offer a managed in-home Wi-Fi solution which aims to reduce the volume of customer support calls related to poor in-home connectivity and reduce churn.

    The portfolio also utilizes a Broadcom WLAN chipset to analyze and avoid interference effects caused by other Wi-Fi and non Wi-Fi devices, minimizing connectivity issues. The Nokia Wi-Fi gateways can identify 17 different interference sources at both 2.4-GHz and 5-GHz.

    “Everyone knows how tedious malfunctioning Wi-Fi networks can be. People demand instant connectivity and perfect coverage throughout their homes. Nokia in-home Wi-Fi delivers just that,” Nokia SVP and GM for broadband carrier access Greg Fischer said.

    “Nokia Wi-Fi will be a great tool for service providers to increase customer loyalty and focus on new revenue streams. As they lease the central home gateway and have a trusted relationship with subscribers, they have a key role to play in delivering the Digital Home.”

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  • Nokia aims to stimulate fixed network innovation with Broadband Access Abstraction project

    Nokia aims to stimulate fixed network innovation with Broadband Access Abstraction project

    Nokia has teamed up with the Broadband Forum (BBF) to lead the new Broadband Access Abstraction (BAA) project, which aims to leverage open source software to drive the adoption of software-defined fixed access networks.

    The BBA project, which was created within the BBF under its Open Broadbandprogram, will define a software reference implementation for an open BAA layer. This will eliminate dependencies on vendor-specific equipment and proprietary software functions by providing standardized interfaces and decoupling implementation from the underlying hardware, Nokia said in a statement.

    Federico Guillén, president of Nokia’s fixed networks business group, said the BBA initiative is driving an agile and collaborative environment that produces reusable software for fixed access operators worldwide.

    “Open source software is a powerful tool that can make us more efficient as an industry. However, one of the biggest hurdles is simply getting started. By opening and standardizing the common, generic part of the network software, we avoid the need to re-write that same software for every technology, every vendor and every node,” the executive said.

    “In turn, we can now focus our efforts on developing new applications and capabilities that make the network faster, better, and smarter: for example, converging fixed and mobile networks; fronthauling 5G over fiber-access networks, automating operations and building self-healing and self-optimizing networks.”

    Guillén said Nokia is the first vendor partner to contribute open source code under the BAA project. The open source code delivers common management functionality, making it easier to operate multi-vendor, multi-technology access networks and letting operators and vendors focus on developing new innovative cloud capabilities instead.

    Robin Mersh, CEO of Broadband Forum, said the new initiative will help reduce the time and efforts needed to achieve interoperability and help operators to develop a framework for cloud infrastructure in the central office.

    “By aligning open source code to industry specifications, the BBF can effectively collaborate with the open source community to aid in development and testing,” Mersh said.

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  • Startups beat Ericsson, Huawei, Nokia in telco cloud market

    Startups beat Ericsson, Huawei, Nokia in telco cloud market

    The telco network is starting to provide opportunities for much smaller companies and even startups are now winning business against the established giants Ericsson, Huawei and Nokia, according to ABI Research.

    Findings of ABI Research’s Telco Cloud Hot Tech Innovators report show 15 companies that are creating new types of innovation and bringing fresh ideas to the telco market.

    These companies include cloud players, new entrants, network specialists, and software developers, which were previously barred from entering the telecoms market.

    “The 15 companies we have profiled illustrate a completely new way of developing network technology. In some cases, they have even won business against Tier-1 vendors, which are 100 times their size, have 100 times their R&D budget and have a formidable sales organization,” said Dimitris Mavrakis, research director at ABI Research.

    “These companies win with software skills, cloud computing, open sourcing, and being free of a legacy business to support,” said Mavrakis.

    The 15 companies ABI Research has profiled, and the new wave of startups go directly opposite the established norm as some of them are 10-people companies and rely on open source projects to win business.

    ABI Research said that only by embracing this new trend can telcos break free from their connectivity-driven business model. Frinx, inManta, Metaswitch, Netrolix, NFWare and Yotta Communications are a few examples of startups that would have no place in the market five years ago.

  • Nokia unveils cloud-based developer portal

    Nokia unveils cloud-based developer portal

    Nokia has announced new online portal that will enable the development of compelling digital applications using Nokia AirGile cloud-native core products.

    The Nokia Developer Portal will provide secure access to products using APIs, enabling third-party developers to build and test the interoperability of solutions with Nokia AirGile cloud-native core products to accelerate introduction in a commercial network.

    The Developer Portal will be made available at the end of September.

    Nokia is also making the Shared Data Layer available on the Developer Portal. Using APIs, developers will be able to securely use information such as policy, charging and subscription data, in line with country regulations and customer permission, to develop and test location-based, big data analytics and network diagnostic applications.

    The Shared Data Layer also enables the creation of virtualized 5G network functions using a highly reliable and resilient data storage mechanism.

    Nokia continues to foster the growth of a vibrant cloud ecosystem on the Open Ecosystem Network. New Shared Data Layer and Telecom Application Server communities are being added and the existing CloudBand Application Manager ecosystem is being integrated.

    The communities offer an online platform for operators, enterprises and developers to collaborate, discuss and develop new solutions that leverage these products.

    Nokia AirGile cloud-native core is the new name for an expanding portfolio of products that allow operators to implement the agility, scalabilty, programmability and reliability of the cloud into their networks. The AirGile cloud-native core portfolio comprises.

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  • Nokia extends wireless portfolio

    Nokia extends wireless portfolio

    Nokia is extending its enterprise wireless networking portfolio with new small cells, Wi-Fi, multi-access edge computing and cloud packet core capabilities.

    The new components aim to allow businesses to manage and operate their own private wireless networks to support their digital transformation initiatives.

    The company’s new virtualized multi-access edge computing (MEC) solution will allow operators to deliver private LTE networks to enterprises over their 4G network, and to allow enterprises to run MEC over commercial-off-the-shelf servers.

    Nokia has also introduced a new compact outdoor AirScale Wi-Fi access point and added a hybrid access gateway capability to the Cloud Packet Core.

    “We want to support the evolution toward the fourth industrial revolution by giving companies the ability to leverage private wireless networks for their critical communications needs and rapidly ramp-up business applications that improve efficiency,” Nokia head of advanced mobile network solutions Thorsten Robrecht said.

    “We continue to evolve our end-to-end solutions and services to allow enterprises to transition towards digitalization in a smooth and cost-efficient way in preparation for 5G automation in the future.”

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  • Nokia expands development, deployment of 5G First

    Nokia expands development, deployment of 5G First

    Nokia has announced plans to implement early 5G specifications, enhancing its ‘5G First’ portfolio with the 3GPP 5G Phase I protocol, to meet growing interest for 5G mobility applications emerging from operators, notably in markets like US, China, Japan and South Korea.

    In a statement, Nokia said the vendor will push for accelerated 3GPP industry standardization while building on early customer experiences with its Nokia 5G First end-to-end solution, launched last February.

    This 5G NR (New Radio) air interface standard, which is due in early 2018, is designed to support a wide variety of 5G devices and services.

    Nokia said it is building on extensive field experience already gained with Nokia 5G First, which has generated valuable insights into areas such as the use of radio propagation in higher frequencies, massive MIMO and beamforming, integration with existing networks versus standalone implementations, the use of small cells in 5G deployments, and the importance of cloud native core and cloud RAN technologies.

    ”Through 5G First, Nokia is evolving its 5G strategy to drive the industry rapidly towards the adoption of standards-based commercial applications as early as 2019,” said Marc Rouanne, president of mobile networks at Nokia.

    “Doing so will require broad cross-industry support, and we call upon regulators and governments to free up and enable the use of spectrum at low-, mid- and high-frequency bands for trials,” said Rouanne.

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  • Nokia narrows Q2 loss despite rough network market

    Nokia narrows Q2 loss despite rough network market

    Weeks after Ericsson reported a swing to a second quarter loss, Nokia has turned in results that also reflect the challenges facing the telecoms equipment market.

    Nokia reported a net loss for the quarter of €423 million ($494.2 million), but this was a significant improvement on the €726 million loss recorded during the same quarter year earlier.

    Net sales grew 1% to €5.62 billion, but sales from Nokia’s networks business fell 5% to €4.97 billion, with “ultra-broadband” sales down 8% to €2.16 billion. Global services sales were flat at €1.44 billion, and IP networks sales were down 4% at €1.36 billion.

    By contrast, Nokia Technologies sales – which include revenue from handset patent licensing agreements – surged 90% to €369 million due to the patent licensing and collaboration agreement with Apple reached in May.

    In a statement, Nokia CEO Rajeev Suri warned that the company expects its “primary addressable market with communication service providers to be slightly more challenging in 2017 than earlier forecast,” projecting a decline in the market of between 3-5%.

    “Despite these headwinds, I believe Nokia’s disciplined operating model puts us in a strong position to succeed in conditions of all kinds and continue to deliver solid shareholder value. In addition, we are seeing catalysts in the United States, China and Japan that point to an acceleration of 5G and the commencement of meaningful roll-outs in 2019.”

    Earlier this month, Ericsson reported a swing to a 1 billion kronor ($120.4 million) loss for the second quarter, with net sales down 8% to 49.9 billion kronor. CEO Börje Ekholm pledged to accelerate the vendor’s

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  • Nokia wraps up Comptel acquisition

    Nokia wraps up Comptel acquisition

    Nokia said it has completed its acquisition of Comptel, a Finland-based telecommunications software company.

    Announced last February, the acquisition advances Nokia’s strategy to build a standalone software business at scale by expanding and strengthening its software portfolio and go-to-market capabilities.

    Comptel bolsters Nokia’s software portfolio by adding capabilities that help digital service providers bring new communications services to market faster, master the orchestration of services and order flows, capture data-in-motion and refine decision-making.

    When combined with Nokia’s OSS, BSS, analytics, security and cloud technology, Nokia will be able to offer the software intelligence and real-time network information to deliver better digital experiences and operations in a cloud environment.