The expanded portfolio, named FastMile, is set to become available in early 2024. Outdoors, Nokia is leveraging high-gain antennas with receivers that mitigate wall attenuation, minimizing radio frequency loss due to wall materials. These receivers also work toward enhancing coverage at the cell edge while allowing end-users to perform self-installations.
These objectives are further facilitated by intelligent location identification. Nokia asserts that studies have demonstrated that network capacity loss can be as high as 60%, depending on device placement. However, by optimizing receiver placement alone, it’s possible to conserve up to 30% of radio capacity. To identify the ideal receiver location, end-users can rely on intuitive and user-friendly mobile apps.
The FastMile 5G receiver’s high-gain antennas can achieve a range of up to 10 dBi. At its peak, the outdoor receiver can harness four component carrier aggregations, boosting mobile data via up to 300MHz of bandwidth.
For indoor settings, the new 5G Gateway 7, which is part of the kit, employs antennas with a gain of up to 8 dBi, along with carrier aggregation spanning up to 200MHz of spectrum. This device combines 4G and 5G radio using dual-band WiFi 7 and complies with 3GPP release 17 standards.
As Jamie Lenderman, Research Manager at Omdia, pointed out: “As the FWA market continues to evolve and grow, operators increasingly need technology options that can maximize the capacity of their network, are easy to install and are capable of delivering the ultimate user experience.” Nokia’s new FWA 5G indoor and outdoor devices appear to meet these criteria for operators seeking to deploy FWA services.
Dirk Verhaegen, Nokia’s VP of Broadband Devices, emphasized the importance of capacity in Fixed Wireless Access services, stating:
Capacity is king with Fixed Wireless Access services. Only by managing this capacity can operators connect more fixed subscribers while maintaining a high quality of experience for both mobile and fixed users. Our new outdoor Receiver and Wi-Fi 7 Gateway are unique in the industry bringing high gain technology together with ease of use features that deliver the best broadband experience while conserving radio resources.
The telecommunications industry has been increasingly looking to FWA as an alternative solution to other fixed technologies. 5G FWA, in particular, is being compared and contrasted with fiber broadband in discussions surrounding consumer affordability, economic viability for operators, and improving access in remote and out of reach regions.
