Nokia stated that most operators will need to increase their TDD mid-band spectrum holdings in the second half of the decade given the rate at which data traffic is increasing
Nokia and Telia announced that they have successfully completed a field pilot in the upper 6 GHz spectrum band range, the former said in a release.
Nokia noted that the spectrum will add crucial capacity and coverage to existing macro cell sites in dense urban environments for 5G-Advanced and future 6G networks.
Nokia stated that most operators will need to increase their TDD mid-band spectrum holdings in the second half of the decade, given the rate at which data traffic is increasing.
The vendor explained that the allocation of the upper 6 GHz spectrum for mobile services, which means a possible 200 megahertz of mid-band TDD spectrum per operator, was agreed upon at the World Radio Conference 2023.
During the trial, Nokia used a 128TRX Massive MIMO radio based on its AirScale Habrok platform and a test terminal from MediaTek with integrated antennas. The pilot examined whether the uplink coverage on the higher frequency is compatible with the existing inter-site distances. The companies tested the upper part of the band (n104) and used a 3.5 GHz massive MIMO cell of the same RF-bandwidth across various distances to replicate different real-world scenarios.
The Nordic vendor stated that field tests confirmed the macro-grid-readiness of the upper 6 GHz spectrum used with Massive MIMO. The tests showed that massive capacity can be added in urban areas, where there is higher demand for TDD broadband, and high throughput can be achieved in suburban or rural areas, Nokia said.
Luciana Camargos, head of spectrum at the GSMA, said that mobile operators need additional spectrum to serve growing connectivity needs, so commercialization of the upper 6 GHz band will be an important tool in enabling the digital ambitions of each country.
Stefan Jäverbring, group CTO at Telia, said: “As our customers generate increasing amounts of mobile traffic, it is essential to have further access to mid-band TDD spectrum to enhance digitalization in our markets and serve our customers appropriately. This field test with our partner, Nokia, is an important step in demonstrating how this can be done sustainably, as it would be possible to use our existing site grid. In this way, deployment would be faster and have less environmental impact, creating fewer carbon emissions than the alternative of adding capacity by building more new sites.”
“This field pilot demonstrates that Nokia is ready to help mobile operators integrate the bandwidth of these new spectrum allocations seamlessly into their existing network allowing them to provide coverage from the existing macro cell sites on the higher frequency bands,” said Mark Atkinson, head of RAN at Nokia.
