Nokia shows off 5G tech at live pilot in Singapore

Nokia and StarHub have completed the first outdoor pilot of ‘5G New Radio’ on the 3.5GHz frequency band in Singapore, it was announced on Tuesday.

The Finnish telecoms equipment company and the Singaporean mobile network demonstrated industrial and consumer applications of the technology to staff, industry partners and enterprise customers over 'live' Nokia 5G cells and core network technology at StarHub's headquarters in the city-state.

Nokia reported that one industrial application replicated a manufacturing environment, featuring how businesses could use 5G-enabled video analytics to enhance efficiency and minimise production errors.

Another demonstration showed how sports fans could use virtual reality headsets to enjoy 'live' events virtually lag-free over 5G.

The companies said the over-the-air pilot with third party devices showcased the capabilities of a 5G non-standalone network architecture - Nokia 5G radio technology interworking with StarHub's 4G core network - to deliver the speeds, capacity and latency required to support enhanced mobile broadband services.

Nokia deployed ‘AirScale Radio Access’ technology with ‘5G New Radio’ 3GPP-compliant software and the ‘Nokia AirFrame’ data centre solution, which it said leveraged its services expertise to optimise the deployment.

“As 5G inches closer, we are intensifying trials to identify new business opportunities and chart our network transformation roadmap to meet the demands of our customers,” said StarHub’s chief technology officer Chong Siew Loong.

“This successful pilot with Nokia showcases the readiness and possibilities of 5G to enhance consumer services and boost efficiencies for enterprises.

“It aligns with StarHub's goal to support and accelerate Smart Nation initiatives in Singapore.”

Tommi Uitto, president of mobile networks at Nokia, added that the Finnish firm was able to offer customers such as StarHub a pre-integrated and ultra-optimised network using its ‘5G Future X’ end-to-end architecture, to accelerate the launch of 5G.

“Leveraging this technology, customers such as StarHub can achieve greater operational efficiencies and higher performance as they begin to deliver enhanced mobile broadband services.”