Nokia debuts AirScale All-in-Cloud base station

Nokia rolled out a series of enhancements to its AirScale portfolio including a Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS) software upgrade for existing Nokia AirScale base stations and introduction of a Nokia AirScale All-in-Cloud base station.

Nokia’s DSS solution, delivered as a software upgrade to existing Nokia AirScale base stations, enables dynamic sharing between 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G technologies. The 4G–5G DSS feature, which has been the subject of interest from operators in leading 5G markets, automatically co-ordinates the spectrum usage between 4G and 5G, helping them reuse existing 4G radio networks and speed up 5G rollouts. Typically, 5G is launched in higher mmWave or cmWave spectrum, while existing 4G is deployed in the lower spectrum range. By reusing the lower-frequency 4G spectrum, 5G coverage can be achieved faster and at a lower cost. Initial deliveries of Nokia’s DSS solution are planned to start in April 2020, with volume shipments expected by July, in line with the availability of DSS-capable mobile devices.

The new Nokia AirScale All-in-Cloud base station virtualizes real-time baseband and puts the baseband processing power at the edge of the network to meet extremely low-latency requirements, boosting the efficiency of the network. Nokia Bell Labs is developing an AirScale Cloud-native RAN.

The rollout also includes compact dual and triple-band remote radio heads to support cell site deployment requirements, as well as several new high-performance massive MIMO adaptive antennas to deliver 5G coverage and high capacity.

Tommi Uitto, President of Mobile Networks at Nokia, commented: “All of these upgrades are designed to support mobile operators in their efforts to deliver compelling 5G experiences to their customers faster and at a lower cost. They will also support with increased demand for capacity, which is critical in the current environment. Our latest portfolio innovations will help operators to take advantage of the 5G world by delivering new use cases and business models and add new revenue streams.”