Nokia a primary partner of Japan’s KDDI for 5G network upgrade

Nokia officially announced that the company was selected as a primary partner in the upgrade of KDDI’s network to 5G. KDDI is one of Japan’s largest telecom companies and it will start using “industry-leading radio access solution, AirScale, in 2020.”

Nokia’s AirScale solution supports both 4G and 5G, so alongside leveraging new technology as 5G, KDDI will also get a modernized 4G network infrastructure.

The contract for 5G radio re-enforces the strong relationship between the two companies, which dates back over two decades. Nokia is an existing supplier to KDDI across multiple technologies, including radio, fixed networks, mobile core network and multiple software solutions. The 5G network will support KDDI across both cmWave and mmWave 5G frequency bands and can be deployed in both distributed and centralized architectures.

The network will be deployed across Japan and will deliver enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) to consumers and enhanced Machine Type Communication (eMTC) enabling multiple new applications and services for industries in the 5G era. The network architecture will also be transformed to enable 5G Ultra Reliable Low Latency Connectivity (URLLC).

Telecoms.com noted that both Nokia and Ericsson are claiming to be primary partners, which is interesting. KDDI using both vendors is an usual industry praxis for bigger operators for quicker and more cost effective network implementation.

Source: Nokia