11 October 2016
As a first step in the partnership, Nokia is conducting trials of its 5G-ready radio equipment at BT’s lab at Adastral Park, Suffolk.
BT and Nokia have signed a research collaboration agreement on 5G technologies.
They will work together on potential customer use cases for 5G technologies, the creation of proof of concept trials, and the development of the emerging technology standards and equipment.
The trials will focus on the technology enablers for 5G including millimetre wave (mmWave) radio spectrum (Extremely High Frequencies in the 30-300GHz band) and convergence, as well as potential commercial services including ultrafast mobile broadband, mission-critical services and the IoT.
5G mobile technology targets peak data rates of multiple gigabits, and latency in the one millisecond range.
The partners say such speeds would allow for the simultaneous streaming of data-heavy content such as virtual reality or live 360º video to any device, while greatly reduced latency would mean truly real-time engagement between remote users and systems.
They add that all this is essential for consumer applications such as mobile gaming and major technology advancements like driverless cars.
However, the two companies believe that the technology’s biggest potential is its ability to improve the flexibility and usability of mobile networks, allowing them to ‘flex’ to meet the specific needs of customers.
This might include lower latency to support critical communications, or greater power efficiency and higher bandwidth usage for different applications. This new flexibility will be critical to support new business and consumer services based on IoT, including connected cars, smart cities and remote health monitoring applications.
Howard Watson, CEO of BT technology, service and operations, said: “It’s still early days for 5G technology, but experience tells us that a collaborative approach is key to success.”
This latest agreement builds on the existing relationship between the two companies. Nokia supplies BT’s core routing platform, both the BT/EE subscriber register infrastructure, and part of the EE radio access network.
