Nokia will use its 4.5G and 4.5G Pro and 4.9G technologies to conduct trials that make the most of Telefónica’s existing network assets, helping it to meet the growing demands of individual subscribers and IoT.
Enrique Blanco, systems and network global director at Telefónica, said: "As demand rises, we want to deliver the greatest possible network experience even as we expand our offering to both existing and new customers. Working with Nokia we will explore the potential of key technologies that allow us to do this in the most effective way on the path to 5G."
Both companies will also carry out trials to increase capacity in busy city-centre hot spots, suburban and rural areas using licensed and unlicensed spectrum as well as Nokia’s massive MIMO capabilities.
Other trials will see the two use Nokia’s Multi-access Edge Computing, which allows data to be processes closer to the end-user, for the delivery of low latency communications.
In addition, Nokia and Telefónica will research network slicing techniques on a cloud native core network using Telefónica’s UNICA cloud platform, which aims to virtualise network functions across all Telefónica's operation, therefore allowing Telefónica to use a common network infrastructure to deliver services to new and existing customers.
Pedro Hernández, vice president of Telefónica Global Business at Nokia, said: "Nokia has defined a comprehensive portfolio of technologies and services that will allow any operator to move to the cloud and 5G at a pace that meets their objectives and the demands of their customers. We are pleased to leverage these technologies and expertise to help Telefónica transform its network and evolve its service offer to anticipate and satisfy changing market demands."
