Page 31 - SAMENA Trends - July-August 2023

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Nokia and BT Group Demo Enhanced 5G SA Uplink Aggregation

BT Group and Nokia have announced the successful uplink
aggregation of two carrier components in a 5G Standalone (SA)
live network spectrum. The tests were conducted at BT Group’s
facility in Adastral Park, Ipswich, using Nokia’s 5G AirScale
portfolio and a device powered by a Snapdragon 5G Modem-RF
System from Qualcomm Technologies, following initial lab-based
trials. According to BT, uplink speeds of more than 230Mbps were
achieved in the test, with downlink speeds of more than 1Gbps also
recorded. It was noted that demonstration was ‘conducted with 15,
30 and 40MHz NR2600 carrier independently aggregated with a
40MHz NR3500 carrier component’. The tests were undertaken as
part of BT Group’s efforts to ensure that, when 5G SA services are
launched via its mobile unit EE, it maintains its 5G network quality
for end users. Commenting, Greg McCall, Chief Networks Officer
at BT Group, said: ‘Carrier aggregation will be key to delivering the
very best 5G experience to our customers, with this latest trial in success of achieving 4CA in 5G SA downlink, and we look forward
partnership with Nokia demonstrating significant performance to achieving further milestones in this space as we continue to
increases in terms of uplink speeds. This builds on last year’s progress towards 5G SA.’

Nokia Tasked with Canada 5G Upgrade

Finnish vendor Nokia agreed a deal with Canada-based cable TV experience by boosting data rates and network capacity. The deal
and telecoms company Eastlink to enhance and modernize its 5G involves site expansion and upgrades, with the first Nokia-powered
network covering seven provinces. Nokia stated it will deploy its location to go live this month. Eastlink is a relatively small operator
AirScale portfolio including its 5G RAN to improve Eastlink’s mobile in the country, which has invested around $500 million since 2013
to grow its mobile services. It provides a range of residential,
business and public sector services in seven Canadian provinces,
as well as Bermuda. CEO Jeff Gillham said it expects Nokia to
cover “a sizeable portion” of its mobile RAN over the next few
years. Nokia partnered with various government entities in Canada
in 2022 to construct an R&D facility focusing on the development
of various technologies including 5G. Its major rival Ericsson also
made a splash in Canada this year, agreeing a five-year partnership
with the country’s government to pump more than CAD470 million
($350 million) into two R&D centres and step up research into a
range of new technologies.

Nokia, TPG Telecom and MediaTek Demonstrate 360-Degree Video
Broadcasting Using 5G Uplink Carrier Aggregation

Nokia, in collaboration with TPG Telecom and MediaTek showcased powered by its ReefShark chipset. MediaTek provided its 5G mobile
a ground-breaking live 360-degree video broadcast on the future platform using the MediaTek M80 5G modem, which has been
of the Metaverse, enabled by Nokia’s state-of-the-art 5G Uplink incorporated into the Dimensity SoC series. The demo used the
Carrier Aggregation (CA) technology, TPG Telecom’s commercial combination of a 15 MHz carrier on the 700 MHz band (n28) and
5G network and MediaTek’s 5G mobile chipset technology. The a 90 MHz carrier on the 3.6 GHz band (n78) using Uplink Carrier
demonstration highlighted how CA technology can transform the Aggregation technology to achieve a peak uplink throughput of 159
experience of watching TV, movies and sports, and took place at Mbps. During the demonstration, Leslie Shannon, Nokia’s Head of
Nokia’s 5G Futures Lab, Sydney, Australia. By combining two or Trend and Innovation Scouting gave a talk about the future of the
more sub-6 GHz frequency bands, Nokia’s CA technology delivers Metaverse. The talk covered how 360-degree video livestreamed
optimized 5G uplink speeds, enabling real-time transmission over 5G is a key component of some Industrial Metaverse
of high-quality 360-degree video. The demo utilized solutions experiences, allowing workers, for example, to view a remote
from Nokia’s latest energy-efficient AirScale portfolio including location through a VR headset while remotely controlling a robot
baseband, massive MIMO, and Remote Radio Head products, in that location doing a potentially dangerous job, such as handling

31 JULY-AUGUST 2023