Nokia selected to provide Finland with 5G RAN

Nokia has been selected by fellow Finnish phone company Elisa to provide nationwide 5G radio access networks (RAN) with the aim of providing ultra-fast, low latency broadband mobile service to customers. 

The deal continues the two company's partnership into the 5G era as Elisa attempts to digitalise Finland and make it a world leader in the 5G market.

Deployment of the project using Elisa's AirScale 5G radio network portfolio is due to begin immediately.

According to Nokia, their 5G RAN supports a "flexible, AI-integrated architecture," which the phone titans claim "triples the throughput of [their] market-leading RAN technology" emphasising performance and scalability to bring 5G networks to as many people as possible.

Nokia has also recently been selected to take over 5G services in Britain by  British Telecommunications (BT) as they cease operations with Chinese phone company Huawei.

The project will also focus on mobile network technology migration so that new radios will server both 4G and 5G subscribers across the country. Elisa is expected to discontinue service for their 3G network starting in 2023 to support its focus on 5G.

Elisa is the first operator of its kind in Finland to install a commercial liquid cooling 5G base station, which they claim reduces the potential energy expense of that base by 30% and CO2 emissions by as much as 80%. Nokia has delivered zero-emission products to over 150 company's worldwide and is committed to decreasing emissions from its operations by as much as 41% by 2030.

Veli-Matti Mattila, CEO of Elisa, said: "We continue facilitating the benefits of 5G to our customers in Finland, one of the world's leading mobile service markets and are delighted to work with Nokia to enhance our capabilities.

"Nokia has been an important strategic partner for us a long time and its technology has helped us to deliver state-of-the-art 5G-based enhanced mobile broadband experiences to our customers.

"I believe we will have exciting years ahead creating new solutions to meet our customers' needs, also in the field of private networks, ultra-low latency services and massive IoT. I look forward to continuing to develop this relationship into the 5G era and beyond."

Pekka Lundmark, President and CEO of Nokia said: "Nokia has a long-standing partnership with Elisa, which we are excited to extend into the 5G era as their strategic supply partner. Together we have delivered many technology 'firsts,' including installing the first-ever commercial liquid cooling station, which highlights our shared commitment to decreasing emissions while providing world-class connectivity.

"I look forward to continuing to work closely with Elisa on its ambition to digitise Finnish society."

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