With Next Generation Communications, it is all about the race to 5G. Which company will make it to the finish line first, that is the big question as testing is showing successful result after successful result. There is even talk that 5G will make it to Tokyo in time for the 2020 Olympics, which would be perfect for all the ultimate event of the summer. But, so much more was going on, making it the perfect time for the Next Generation Communications Week in Review.
The week started with the announcement that HMD Global would a part of the Techpoint Build 2018 event in Nigeria. The hope is that technology will grow the Nigerian economy and standard of living. We will see what happens once the event has had some time to settle.
Nokia and Nepal’s WorldLink announced a joint venture as Nokia (News - Alert) is deploying FTTH with WL, connecting over one million Nepalese homes. "Fiber networks and next-generation access technologies such as XGS and TWDM-PON are uniquely positioned to address the evolving mobile transport needs in the era of 5G. By leveraging FTTH networks that are already in place, and vendor technologies such as Nokia's mobile transport solution, mobile operators can quickly gain access to the capacity, scale and flexibility needed to support 'anyhaul' applications," stated Rupert Wood, research director at Analysys (News - Alert) Mason.
Nokia is also teaming up with NTT DOCOMO, Japan’s biggest mobile operator. The goal is to supply 5G baseband products to be deployed in a 5G mobile network. The mission is for a 2020 deployment. Hiroshi Nakamura, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, NTT (News - Alert) DOCOMO noted, "We have been collaborating with partners such as Nokia on various 5G technology and use case trials since 2014. With this agreement with Nokia, we are now proceeding to the next step to launch 5G mobile services by 2020, and accelerate co-creation of new services and businesses with vertical industry partners."
Telia has asked Nokia to provide the company with Cloud Packet Core technology. “There is tremendous potential with the continued growth of mobile broadband, and with new services and 5G in the near future,” says Sri Reddy, senior vice president of Nokia’s IP and optical business.
Nokia is also readying a new smartphone for fall 2018 release but this is just speculation at this point. Features include a fingerprint scanner, a Snapdragon 845 processor, and so much more. But, we will have to wait a little longer to see if this will come to fruition.
Finally, the first successful over-the-air test demonstrating 5G interoperability and development testing (IODT) has been conducted by Intel (News - Alert), Deutsche Telecom (DT) and Huawei. 5G network research started between DT and Huawei two years ago, being dedicated to speeding up the already speedy 5G network of the future. Combining Intel’s 5G NR platform, success in the IODT tests were able to be completely achieved.
Is everyone else ready for 5G? It’s coming and you should come back early and often next week for more news and announcements!