Nokia said it will upgrade Telia’s entire 5G radio access network infrastructure to enable 5G slicing
Finnish vendor Nokia and Telia Finland have launched what it claims to be the world’s first commercial 5G standalone (SA) network with network slicing for Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) services.
In a release, the vendor said that Telia is introducing 5G SA to its 5G FWA home broadband services, which will enable it to start offering a range of broadband deals with guaranteed service levels to its customers in Finland. Nokia also highlighted that the deployment of this technology is underway.
Under the terms of the deal, Nokia will upgrade Telia’s entire 5G radio access network infrastructure to enable 5G slicing utilizing equipment from its AirScale portfolio including 5G radio and baseband products.
The vendor highlighted that the introduction of network slicing will enable the Nordic telco to allocate a portion of the network for 5G FWA and provide new services like application category-based slicing. Nokia 5G FWA gateways are included in the deal. Telia is also utilizing Nokia’s carrier aggregation technology to improve the use of its 5G spectrum assets to boost coverage in key regions across the country.
Nokia said it also supplied 5G SA core for Telia Company in Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden.
Jari Collin, CTO at Telia, said: “We were one of the first operators in Europe to introduce a 5G standalone and core network and with the encouraging feedback of our customers, we are now deploying this new technology commercially. 5G’s most innovative applications will be built on our 5G network, and we want to keep Finland at the forefront of its development as this technology matures.”
“Together with Telia, we have been at the forefront of innovation by delivering the world’s first 4G/5G network slicing and edge slicing solutions. Today, we take another significant step forward in our pioneering network slicing story with the introduction of 5G FWA services that will deliver super-fast home broadband services to Telia’s customers in Finland,” said Ari Kynäslahti, head of strategy and technology at Nokia Mobile Networks.
In November 2021, Nokia announced the deployment of its 5G Standalone core network in Finland for Telia. The vendor said that this deployment will allow the telco to deliver new, advanced 5G services like slicing, provide reliable network performance, and more readily monetize its network assets.
In October 2020, Nokia was selected by Telia Company as the exclusive provider of its 5G radio access network in Finland. As part of the deal, Nokia supplied Telia with its AirScale portfolio including 5G RAN, AirScale base stations and Nokia AirScale radio access products.
Telia had launched the first pre-commercial 5G networks in Helsinki, Vantaa and Oulu in Finland in September 2018 in partnership with Nokia. The commercial network was turned up at the beginning of 2019.
