Nokia and Claro deploy 1000 5G sites in Columbia

The project was completed four months after Colombian authorities issued 5G licenses, and is pitched as laying the ground for innovation across industrial sectors including transport, mining, energy and oil and gas.

Nokia is supplying indoor and outdoor kit from its AirScale portfolio including base stations, high-capacity Massive MIMO antennas and remote radio head (RRH) solutions. Nokia will also provide its MantaRay NM solution which provides network management and MantaRay SON for automated operations, network optimization and technical support services.

On top of the 1000 5G sites Nokia has set up, a further deal will see the deployment of another 400. The project provides 5G coverage in six of Colombia’s largest cities, with plans to cover another 14 cities throughout the year.

There’s a selection of Nokia software offerings thrown into the pot as well, including its ‘fully automated’ 5G Core that enables the delivery of things such as FWA, Nokia Assurance Center, which facilitates automated network decision-making, NetGuard Cybersecurity Dome, and NetGuard Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) which is a threat detection and incident suite.

Nokia’s IP Anyhaul solution will provide the mobile backhaul and fronthaul connectivity, based on FP5-based 7750 service routers and 7250 interconnect routers, with operational automation provided by the Network Services Platform (NSP). Claro will also deploy Nokia’s 1830 Photonic Service Switch (PSS) platform to provide connectivity across its metro transport network to support traffic ‘from aggregation to concentration layers.’

“We are delighted to have our 5G network up and running in record time,” said Rodrigo de Gusmao, CEO at Claro Colombia. “5G connectivity is a game changer and its incredible speeds, security and capacity provides the platform to deliver next-level services to our customers as well as a range of industries. We are excited to continue our long-standing partnership with Nokia who will help us lead this 5G revolution.”

Tommi Uitto, President of Mobile Networks at Nokia added: “We are proud to continue our long-standing partnership with Claro Colombia into the 5G era. The close collaboration of both companies was key to completing this project in record time. Together, we have built the foundations for spearheading the digital transformation in Colombia, which will benefit the society, its citizens and its businesses. Our industry-leading AirScale portfolio will underpin this change with premium-grade capacity, performance and coverage. I look forward to continuing this partnership in the years to come.”

In a similar neck of the woods, last month Nokia, alongside Global Fiber Peru, deployed a new subaquatic optical, IP and fibre broadband network into an area of the Amazon rainforest known as the three-border region, where Peru, Colombia and Brazil share borders. The new subaquatic network is buried in the Amazon River, and will allow Global Fiber Peru to offer what it says is the first FTTH (Fiber-to-the-Home) broadband access service in the region, as well as multi-gigabit services for enterprise users.