Nokia has unveiled plans to launch 4.5G Pro and 4.9G network as it moves closer to 5G technology.
The Finnish firm, said it will launch 4.5G Pro for mobile operators before the end of the year, delivering speeds 10 times faster than those found on conventional 4G networks.
Using the technology, mobile operators will be able to offer speeds of up to 1Gbps, according to Nokia’s tests, as well as a significant increase in LTE capacity and coverage.
More than 90 networks around the world are currently leveraging Nokia’s 4.5G technology, it said. 4.5G Pro will use Nokia’s AirScale radio portfolio and extended carrier aggregation technology across five frequency bands to offer the faster speeds.
Nokia also announced plans to launch the next step to 5G, 4.9G, which it claims will take connection speeds to "several gigabits per second". Nokia did not reveal a release date, but said it is poised to launch 4.9G in the "near future".
Nokia recently showcased speeds of 1.2Gbps on a 4G network using carrier aggregation and 4x4MIMO on Airscale recently as part of a test with Deutsche Telekom Group in Poland.
Samih Elhage, President of Mobile Networks at Nokia said: "While the ever-connected world of people and IoT drives huge data demands, the speeds enabled by 5G will be a colossal step in operators' network evolution.
"However, with our 4.5G, 4.5G Pro and 4.9G technologies, we will provide a smooth evolution path that will allow them to increase capacity and improve the user experience while creating new revenue opportunities."