StarHub trialling Nokia’s AirScale integrated radio access network platform on its ‘live’ mobile network in the journey towards 5G
Singapore, 2 November 2016 - Nokia and Singapore’s StarHub have used the Nokia AirScale platform to demonstrate in a 'live' setting how 5G cmWave* can deliver mobile broadband with an ultra-high speed of 4.3 Gigabits per second and latency of just 1 millisecond. The demonstration was carried out as part of StarHub’s ongoing trials of future technologies to facilitate virtual reality, augmented reality and e-health applications.
In the journey towards future-proofing its network for customers, StarHub is trialling the new platform, which enables the simultaneous running of multiple network technologies, such as 3G, 4G and 5G when finalized, across different spectrum bands using the same radio module. As compared to previous generation radio access technologies, the new platform offers unrivalled scalability, takes up less physical space and consumes 60% less energy.
Conducted at StarHub’s headquarters, the 5G demonstration achieved speeds tens of times superior to typical 4G networks today. Aside from allowing mobile users to download huge files in mere seconds, such technological advances with ultra-low lag characteristics can enhance M2M (machine-to-machine) communication and applications including autonomous driving.
Chong Siew Loong, Head of Network Engineering, StarHub, said: “5G, while still a distance away, will become reality in the time to come. Through our ongoing trials of new technologies such as Nokia’s integrated AirScale solution, we are exploring how we can use 5G technologies to enrich the lives of our customers.”
Nicolas Bouverot, head of Asia South at Nokia, said: “This demo reiterates our leadership position in the 5G ecosystem. Nokia AirScale allows service providers to lay the foundation for the programmable world of the future. It enables service providers to roll out best-in-class services and differentiate without significantly increasing their expenditure. We look forward to partnering StarHub on their journey to 5G.”
Overview of Nokia solutions provided for the trial:
The 5G-ready Nokia AirScale Radio Access is designed for adaptability and agility to meet the requirements of the future. It can run all current technologies simultaneously and upgrades the LTE network to 4.5G Pro for enhanced peak rates and capacity.
*cmWaves are carrier frequencies between 3 and 30 GHz, i.e. wavelengths between 1 and 10 centimeters. These frequencies are set to be used for 5G to transmit massive amounts of data in the blink of an eye, for example letting a user download a full-HD movie in a matter of seconds.
