Nokia completes 4G/5G dual connectivity data call

Nokia has announced the successful completion of a 5G New Radio (5G NR) data call based on 4G/5G dual connectivity during a demonstration in China.

The demonstration, conducted as part of China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s (MIIT) 5G R&D trials, involved a dual connectivity call conducted using a 5G NR system on the 3.5-GHz spectrum band as well as LTE in the 2.1-GHz frequency band.

Nokia said the successful demonstration is an important step in the verification of 5G in sub 6-GHz frequency bands, which will be required for wide-area coverage.

The data call used the Nokia AirScale Cloud RAN, Nokia AirScale baseband unit, Nokia 5G Massive MIMO Active Antenna, Nokia Cloud Packet Core and Nokia home subscriber service. PRISMA Telecom Testing provided a 5G end user equipment simulator.

As well as the 3.5-GHz trials, Nokia also plans to work with the MIIT to trial 5G in the 4.9-GHz frequency bands.

“We are pleased to showcase our end-to-end capabilities in 5G in this successful call and trial with MIIT,” Nokia president of mobile networks Marc Rouanne said.

“Nokia is ready to support dual connectivity with the AirScale radio access portfolio as it is upgradeable via software to 5G and provides single RAN support for 4G, 4.5G Pro and 4.9G as well as legacy technologies. As a result we can help our customers meet their early 5G deployment schedules and initial coverage demands.”