Nokia and Optus today announced that they achieved a record-breaking aggregate site throughput of 10 Gbps during a downlink speed demonstration using 800 MHz of millimetre Wave (mmWave) spectrum at a live 5G site in Brisbane. Powered by Nokia AirScale Radio, the site demonstrates the huge potential of 5G as it is introduced across future spectrum bands. Once deployed, the speed and capacity boost from the 5G mmWave layer will unleash lightning-fast speeds for consumers and enterprises alike to support a range of new low-latency, high-bandwidth services.
The recent demonstration showcased the capabilities of Nokia’s 5G mmWave technology and the benefits of adding it on top of an existing 5G/4G site. The demonstration showed how Nokia’s 5G mmWave technology delivers on the promise of super-fast data rates by boosting the site capacity to 10 Gbps and beyond.
Nokia’s 5G mmWave technology will allow Optus to focus on scalability, automation and performance by supporting services that utilise the full capability of 5G. Leveraging Nokia’s solutions, Optus can also harness 5G mmWave to serve enterprise market and explore new use cases in healthcare, mining, port operations and smart manufacturing, among other industries.
The decision to select this mixed commercial and industrial area of Brisbane was made keeping these new use cases in mind as they sought to showcase the many real-world benefits of mmWave to enterprise; thereby gaining early insights into this new exciting technology before wider rollout in the future.
This achievement further strengthens the long-standing and collaborative partnership between Nokia and Optus. In early 2019, Optus became the first operator globally to deploy Nokia’s FastMile 5G indoor gateway in a live 5G network. Recently, the two companies also successfully launched 5G services at the Optus Stadium in Perth, Australia.
Lambo Kanagaratnam, Managing Director of Networks at Optus, said: “We’re committed to keeping Australia connected and at the forefront of 5G. By partnering with global technology leaders like Nokia, we’ve taken an exciting step towards unlocking the massive potential that 5G mmWave will bring to the consumers, enterprises and industries in Australia. Reaching 10 Gbps per site is a crucial step in our 5G development and validates the progress we’ve made with the technology together with Nokia.”
Anna Wills, Head of Oceania at Nokia, said: “This is another milestone in the development of 5G services and demonstrates the confidence operators have in our 5G solutions. Today’s achievement with Optus shows the potential of mmWave deployments, particularly at a time when connectivity and capacity are so crucial. We’re proud of our long-standing relationship with Optus and the great strides we continue to make together in this new era of connectivity.”