Deliveries commenced in Q1 2015, will continue during 2016
Nokia Networks and China Mobile announced a framework agreement for the provision of mobile communications equipment and services valued at more than $1 billion.
The European vendor said deliveries under the agreement commenced in the first quarter of 2015, and will continue in 2016. Under the agreement, Nokia Networks is providing its TD-LTE-Advanced technology and 2G/3G/4G core network solutions including voice over LTE. Software and professional services, including network planning, implementation and care, will support China Mobile’s LTE network rollout during 2015 and beyond. The operator plans to deploy 1 million TD-LTE base stations by the end of the year.
Nokia’s network infrastructure capabilities will also allow the Chinese operator to strengthen its “Internet of Things” ecosystem by offering connectivity for health care, connected cars and other IoT applications. In addition, Nokia Networks and China Mobile Research Institute signed a memorandum of understanding on their strategic cooperation in the evolution and development of “5G.”
“Our agreement will further accelerate TD-LTE development in China and around the world. In addition, we are also helping China Mobile to support and promote the use of innovative IoT applications for areas as diverse as health care and connected cars,” Mike Wang, Nokia Networks Greater China’s president, said.
SK Telecom, Nokia Networks carry out 5G trial in South Korea
In related news, Nokia Networks and South Korean telecom operator SK Telecom together demonstrated Nokia Networks’ cmWave technology. In a joint 5G trial in South Korea, the two companies achieved 19.1 gigabits-per-second transmission speed over the air using 256 quadrature amplitude modulation, 8×8 multiple-input/multiple-output transmission and 400 megahertz of bandwidth.
“With the world’s first demonstration of the CmWave technology, we have reached a significant milestone toward realizing 5G. The 19.1 Gbps transmission speed we achieved almost meets one of the key capabilities of 5G defined by the ITU-R,” SK Telecom’s CTO Alex Jinsung Choi said.
SK Telecom plans to launch a pre-5G trial in 2018 and a commercial 5G service in 2020. The telco initially launched LTE in the South Korean market in July 2011.
