The deal includes a range of products from the Nokia small cells portfolio
Nokia will provide a range of products from its small cells portfolio to Taiwanese mobile operator Chunghwa Telecom (CHT) to deliver 5G coverage. With this deal, CHT will become the first operator in Taiwan to deploy a 5G non-standalone (NSA) small cells solution, according to Nokia. The two companies are long-standing partners.
Tommi Uitto, president, Mobile Networks, Nokia, called CHT’s efforts “pioneering,” adding, “We are delighted they have chosen our small cells portfolio to achieve their ambitious strategy and looking forward to partnering with them moving forward.”
The portfolio of which Uitto speaks includes Nokia’s flexible AirScale indoor Radio (ASiR) solution for better indoor coverage and capacity, as well as its AirScale micro Remote Radio Heads (RRHs) for outdoor and urban hot spots, which will be deployed to complement the existing base of over 2,500 sets of 4G small cells. Nokia’s equipment will extend 5G coverage and add capacity to indoor residential and small enterprise networks—which aligns well with CHT’s goals, because it considers the small-to-medium-size enterprise space to be a key 5G market.
“This is a continuation of our innovative and ambitious approach to small cell deployment across Taiwan. We are an existing customer of Nokia’s 4G small cells portfolio and had no hesitation in also adopting their 5G products for the first wave of deployment,” said Dr. Max Chen, president of Chunghwa Telecom’s mobile division.
Deployment has already begun, Nokia said, and 140 5G small cells have been installed to date.
More broadly, Nokia recently announced that as of last week, it has signed 17 new 5G commercial agreements in the third quarter of the year. With these wins, the vendor reached 100 commercial 5G deals with individual customers and a total of 160 commercial 5G engagements, including paid trials.
