Nokia’s IoT advice for mobile operators: just Wing it

• Nokia expands its WING worldwide IoT network grid
• Launches new IoT market entry services
• Introduces its TestHub for solution validation and testing services
• All designed to accelerate commercial launches

Nokia is expanding its IoT services offering to help mobile operators enter new IoT market segments or expand their footprint geographically. The company’s WING (worldwide IoT network grid) market entry service is a consultative offering for operators that identifies the best vertical market opportunities in a region and provides the related IoT applications and go-to-market model to help them scale fast to take advantage of the rapidly growing IoT market.

The service determines opportunities in nine IoT market segments: connected car, healthcare, logistics and transport, smart cities, utilities, agriculture, retail, smart homes and buildings, as well as connected industry. Once a service is up and running, Nokia says its WING managed service model can provide provisioning, device management, operations, security, customer care and billing for all connected applications.

“IoT deployments are complex, but with our help operators will be able to fast-track their entry into the market as we provide them not only with a ready-to-go-market and business model, but also with a pre-integrated IoT infrastructure, complete service model and go-to-market support services,” said Friedrich Trawoeger, head of Managed Services at Nokia.

Nokia launched the WING solution back in February as a one-stop-shop, full service model offering seamless IoT connectivity across technologies and geographical borders to address four initial markets: transport, health, utilities and safety. WING manages both the IoT connectivity and services needs of a client's assets as they move around the globe. Connectivity is enabled by intelligent switching between cellular and non-cellular networks. The company uses its own IMPACT IoT platform for device management, subscription management and analytics. Nokia IMPACT subscription management for eSIM will automatically configure connectivity to a communication service provider's network as the asset crosses geographical borders.

In addition, Nokia has complemented its end-to-end multivendor validation and testing services with the Nokia TestHub, designed to help operators test their solutions and devices extensively across domains and technologies before roll-out. Validation testing of solutions and services both in the lab and in the field is essential to accelerating not only commercial IoT launches, but also cloud and eventually 5G launches.

Nokia says automation in testing is critical to keeping pace with accelerating service launches and frees up critical resources in a DevOps environment. As part of the Nokia TestHub, Nokia will provide "Lab as a Service", which gives customers early access to the latest infrastructure and expertise from Nokia for self-testing of devices, network elements, applications and services.