Nokia announced it has signed a four-year deal with EOLO, a Benefit Corporation, and the first B Corp in the Italian telecommunications sector, leader in FWA (fixed wireless access) connectivity, to deploy the first 5G standalone mmWave Radio Access Network in Europe. The deal supports EOLO’s ambitions to connect underserved communities, helping to bridge the digital divide and the digital speed divide in Italy.
Nokia will supply equipment from its industry-leading 5G AirScale portfolio including Nokia's next-generation, AirScale baseband solutions, Massive MIMO radios, and Remote Radio Head products. These are all powered by its energy-efficient ReefShark System-on-Chip technology and combine to provide superior coverage and capacity. Nokia will also provide its compact, Shikra mmWave radios for incredible 5G capacity, ultra-wide bandwidth, and coverage for a premium user experience. Shikra is well-suited for dense, urban environments such as shopping malls or sports stadiums and support services such as real-time multi-user ultra-high-definition video streaming or augmented reality.
The Nokia Shikra mmWave solution also delivers fixed wireless access (FWA) services to rural or underserved communities where traditional wired infrastructure may be impractical or expensive to deploy. Included in the solution is a Nokia FastMile 5G mmWave outdoor receiver to reliably connect homes to the mmWave network. The outdoor receiver allows operators to use low-cost mmWave spectrum to provide consistent, reliable, ultra-fast wireless broadband services in areas where fiber can be challenging to deploy.
Guido Garrone, CEO at EOLO commented: “This is clear evidence of our ambition to build a FWA network able to offer the best experience for our customers (retail, business and wholesale), reaching all the areas of our country not connected by FTTH technology. Together with Nokia and the other partners involved in the deal, we will be able to bring FWA connectivity up to 1 Gbps to the whole Italian market. By installing a new 5G infrastructure, we will see the further development of our FWA network that will continue to improve the experience for our customers as well as bridge digital divide and digital speed divide. I look forward to working closely and collaboratively with Nokia and our other partners on this project.”
Tommi Uitto, President of Mobile Networks at Nokia, said: “We are delighted to get to work with EOLO on this important new deal that will introduce innovative connectivity experiences across Italy and help to connect underserved communities. In particular, the introduction of 5G mmWave solutions from our industry-leading AirScale and FastMile portfolio’s will enable premium 5G capacity and connectivity with the highest quality of service for subscribers.”