Nokia said that nbn’s existing FWA network currently covers almost 650,000 premises across Australia
Nokia announced it has been selected by Australian broadband operator nbn to supply 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) mmWave customer premises equipment (CPE) for the latter’s fixed wireless network upgrade.
In a release, the Finnish vendor noted that this upgrade program will enable nbn to deliver faster speeds to thousands of homes and businesses across semi-rural, regional and remote Australia.
nbn’s existing FWA network currently covers almost 650,000 premises across Australia. The upgrade program will extend nbn’s existing fixed wireless footprint by up to 50%, enabling approximately 120,000 former satellite-only eligible premises access to fixed wireless services for the first time. The 5G mmWave upgrade utilizes the 28 GHz band to be operated in Non-Standalone (NSA) mode.
Nokia also said its mmWave solution introduces an innovative antenna design that can leverage mmWave to a range of up to 10km to meet nbn´s throughput and capacity requirements. The CPE comprises an outdoor unit installed on the roof of the premise and an indoor unit providing user interfaces for the customer, connecting to the outdoor receiver with a 2.5 Gbps Power over Ethernet connection.
Jason Ashton, executive general manager, fixed wireless and satellite at nbn said: ‘We are facing a step-change in demand for broadband in rural and regional areas, with an estimated 300% increase in demand for data on our fixed wireless network over the next ten years. Nokia’s 5G mmWave solution allows nbn to better utilize both our sub6GHz and 5G mmWave spectrum allocations to vastly extend the range, speed and capacity of our existing fixed wireless network and improve the end user’s experience.
NEC to build 5G Innovation lab for the NSW Telco Authority
Also in Australia, NEC Corporation said it has been selected by the New South Wales (NSW) telco authority to build the initial phase of a 5G innovation lab as part of a new strategic partnership.
The new 5G innovation lab will provide an environment where the NSW telco authority and public safety agencies can explore new technologies, prove interoperability, and boost mobile technology in the context of Public Safety Mobile Broadband (PSMB) applications. The lab will run on Amazon Web Services (AWS) to provide an immersive 5G test bed experience in the cloud, NEC said.
“This first phase of the 5G Innovation lab helps the NSW telco authority to test the latest cloud native core technology alongside Open RAN, explore cloud deployment options, build PSMB use cases and provide emergency service organizations with the mobile broadband capacity to facilitate easier communication and better situational awareness,” said Naohisa Matsuda, general manager of NEC’s 5G strategy and business.
Under this deal, NEC will deliver a turnkey end-to-end solution to design, supply, install and commission NEC’s cloud native 5G core on public cloud, in conjunction with a local distributed User Plane Function (UPF).
NEC will also provide 5G Open RAN virtualized centralized and distributed (CU/DU) units, Open Radio Units (O-RUs) and CPEs to leverage applications for the NSW telco authority.
