Nokia heralds 5G era with commercial end-to-end 5G FIRST #MWC17

Press Release

  • Nokia 5G FIRST end-to-end solution incorporates AirScale and AirFrame technology, including AirScale massive MIMO Adaptive Antenna, Cloud Packet Core and mobile transport to bring new capabilities to operators

  • 5G Acceleration Services to allow operators to design and implement 5G uses in their multi-vendor, multi-technology environments

  • With 5G FIRST, operators can capitalize on early adopter specifications to bring new 5G capabilities to homes, offices, sports or special event venues and industrial plants

  • Nokia and Intel will collaborate on commercial deployments later in 2017 using the Intel® 5G Modem

  • 5G FIRST based on industry specifications defined by the Verizon 5G Technology Forum ecosystem in which Nokia is a key member and is the basis of 5G service pilots being conducted by Verizon in 11 US cities


26 February, 2017

Barcelona, Spain - Nokia has developed a solution that will allow operators to rapidly address the huge demands of connected people and industries. Nokia 5G FIRST comprises its radio access network (RAN) including Nokia AirScale massive MIMO Adaptive Antennas, packet core and mobile transport solutions as well as a full service offer using Intel® architecture and the Intel® 5G modem for initial deployments starting in 2017.

With the introduction of 5G FIRST operators will gain a first-to-market advantage based on early specifications. In addition Nokia will use the lessons learned through real-world deployment to contribute to final 3GPP standardization of the technology.

While each operator has its own timeline for moving to 5G, some leading providers are eager to take advantage of the extremely high capacity and low latency connectivity it promises to deliver. To meet early-adopter demands Nokia will make its commercial 5G FIRST end-to-end solution available in the second half of 2017.

The radio access network components of 5G FIRST comprise new Nokia massive MIMO Adaptive Antennas for 3.5 GHz, 4.5 GHz, 28 GHz and 39 GHz frequency bands, the AirScale System Module, AirScale cloud RAN technology and software. Nokia has upgraded its AirScale and AirFrame platforms to 5G based on specifications developed by the KT Special Interests Group (KT SIG) and Verizon 5G Technology Forum and the platforms will be adapted to 3GPP as standards develop.

Leveraging Nokia`s end-to-end network capabilities, 5G FIRST also incorporates the multi-access Nokia Cloud Packet Core and the Nokia Shared Data Layer as part of a cloud-native core architecture to deliver the flexibility, massive scalability and performance operators need to rapidly and cost-effectively deliver 5G services. A comprehensive array of mobile transport offerings from Nokia address the critical capacity, reliability and latency requirements of the 5G era.