• Nokia’s next generation radio access solution runs multiple radio technologies simultaneously in one base station

• 5G-ready, with virtually unlimited scalability to support massive IoT demand and 5G speeds

• Open cloud-based architecture fosters innovation, enables faster software cycles for continuous improvement in performance

• "The biggest thing you’ll ever see" supports every architecture topology - distributed, centralized, cloud

21 February, 2016

Barcelona, Spain – Nokia’s next generation AirScale Radio Access will radically alter the way networks are built. Operators will be able to use Nokia AirScale Radio Access to profitably satisfy future demands including the Internet of Things, virtual reality, augmented reality, factories of the future and other advanced scenarios such as video that demand extreme performance. The first demonstration of Nokia AirScale Radio Access live, with 5G - ready* air interface is being shown at Mobile World Congress 2016.

Nokia is launching a new, complete radio access generation, including cloud-based Radio Access Network (RAN) designed for open interfaces. Nokia Airscale can run all radio technologies simultaneously in one base station; use any architecture topology**, be scaled to virtually unlimited capacity; and it uses 60 percent less energy than even Nokia’s existing, market-leading radio access platform. Furthermore, Nokia AirScale is extremely versatile and compact, allowing it to be installed in novel locations using any available transport and be effectively hidden from view.

Nokia AirScale Radio Access – the highlights:

• Supports any radio technology (2G, 3G, TDD-LTE, FDD-LTE, LTE Advanced, LTE Advanced Pro) running simultaneously in the base station as Single RAN, integrates carrier-grade Wi-Fi access and is 5G-ready

• Baseband units can be chained to create virtually unlimited capacity and connectivity to meet the needs of massive IoT connectivity and 5G speeds

• The Cloud RAN uses Nokia’s powerful AirFrame*** IT hardware that meets stringent radio access capacity, security and latency requirements

• Implements Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) on the same servers as Cloud RAN for easy integration of applications that can use information from the radio for low latency services

• Nokia’s future-proof management solution, Nokia NetAct and Nokia CloudBand ^TM , can be used for both legacy radio networks and new Cloud RAN, offering easy transformation to virtualization

Nokia AirScale Radio Access solution components at a glance:

• Nokia AirScale Base Station, which includes new multiband RF elements and system modules

• Cloud RAN with Nokia AirScale Cloud Base Station Server running on Nokia AirFrame data center solution

• Nokia AirScale Wi-Fi, including Wi-Fi Access points and Nokia AirScale Wi-Fi Controller running on Nokia AirFrame data center solution

• Common software across Nokia’s radio access including small cells

• Supported by services that utilise intelligent analytics and extreme automation to maximise the performance of hybrid networks

Samih Elhage, President of Mobile Networks at Nokia, said :

“The world will witness immense changes over the next few years. Broadband traffic will continue to surge as people go beyond video and take advantage of augmented and virtual reality. The Internet of Things will see billions of devices connected, and 5G will enable new scenarios such as Industry 4.0, smart cities, e-health and mobile living. Nokia AirScale is designed from the ground up for this new era, while also introducing ground-breaking cloud-based capabilities.”

Park Jin-hyo, Senior Vice President and Head of Network Technology R&D Center at SK Telecom, said :

“It is impossible to predict the full extent of the demands on radio access networks that 5G will impose, but we can say they will be hugely disruptive. And there is no doubt that 5G will be extremely important to consumers, businesses and the economic development of countries. It thus becomes imperative for the industry to develop new, agile technologies that operators need to fulfil the 5G promise. By showing real systems, not just concepts, Nokia is clearly at the forefront with its AirScale platform.”

Did you know?

• In a joint 5G trial, SKT and Nokia achieved 19.1 Gbps transmission speed over the air.

• The demand for mobile data has doubled network traffic every year for the past three years, as shown by measurements from more than 120 operators using Nokia. The transition to IoT means we will soon live in a world with between 10 and 100 times more Internet-connected devices than there are connected humans.