Nokia celebrates twelve months of 5G achievements

Espoo, Finland – Nokia is celebrating twelve months of 5G ‘firsts’: a milestone defined by 23 game-changing achievements in the field of 5G.     

Over a twelve-month period that started on 6 September 2018 with the first over-the-air, end-to-end data transmission on a commercial 3GPP 5G New Radio network in partnership with Verizon, Nokia has gone forward to achieve an additional 22 5G firsts in six continents and in a wide range of technology areas.

In addition, as North America is thus far the world’s largest 5G market, Nokia has positioned itself as the leading vendor with the largest 5G population coverage footprint.

Chief among the achievements in the past 12 months are six world firsts in 5G secured by Nokia’s technology and its people, including:

• The first environment for verification to develop the connected car using 5G, enabled by Nokia’s 3GPP-standard base stations for Softbank
• The first tests into new aspects of the 5G standard in real-world industrial conditions at the Port of Hamburg in Germany, together with the Hamburg Port Authority and Deutsche Telekom
• The first over-the-air 5G data transmission using 2.5 GHz and massive MIMO antenna technology, on Sprint’s live commercial network in San Diego, together with Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and Sprint

Nokia has also helped to power seven technology firsts in 5G, which along with the September 2018 Verizon trial include:

• The first 8K Ultra High Definition TV streaming in real conditions over 5G, delivered in partnership with France Télévisions
• The first cloud-based VR gaming on an AI-powered 5G network using open RAN architecture to manage the extreme network demands of immersive real-time VR gaming, after teaming up with CMCC
• The first 5G solution for one of the world’s largest events, the Hajj in Saudi Arabia, using VR to allow visitors to experience Hajj remotely as if they are present on site

Nokia, together with its partners and customers, have also achieved 10 regional firsts in 5G, including:

• The first outdoor pilot of 5G New Radio on 3.5GHz frequency band in Singapore, in partnership with StarHub
• The first nationwide 5G coverage in Europe by, together with TIM, providing full coverage of the entire Republic of San Marino
• The first 5G deals in South Africa, with rain; in Latin America, with ANTEL in Uruguay; and most recently in New Zealand, with Vodafone New Zealand

Marcus Weldon, Nokia’s Corporate CTO and President of Nokia Bell Labs, said: “The past 12 months of Nokia’s 5G milestones and successes stem from our years of research into 5G and the resulting innovative technologies are changing the world for consumers and industries.

“Whether enabling new geographies to experience the possibilities of 5G for the first time, pushing technology to define new limits and deliver groundbreaking performance, or achieving 5G firsts never before seen, Nokia’s end-to-end portfolio is helping customers redefine what’s possible, as the true potential of 5G starts to take hold.”

Nokia Bell Labs pioneered many of the fundamental technology innovations that are being adopted into 5G standards. Inventions in Low Density parity check (LDPC), 5G radio stack design, Massive MIMO, Mobile Edge Computing, and millimeter Wave have enabled 5G Release 15, and new innovations in 5G unlicensed spectrum and Industrial IoT are leading the digital transformation to industrial automation and Industry 4.0. In addition, Nokia has played a key leadership role in driving the first set of globally interoperable 5G standards through its contribution to the 3GPP standards organization.