Nokia seeks to improve coverage with new 5G FWA devices

Finnish kit vendor Nokia has announced it is expanding its 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) portfolio by introducing two new kits for improved indoor and outdoor speeds and coverage.

The expanded portfolio is called FastMile and will be available from early 2024. Outdoors, Nokia uses so-called high gain antennas with receivers that circumvent wall attenuation, i.e., how much radio frequency is lost by wall materials. The receivers will also assist improving coverage to the cell edge, while still allowing the end-users to self-install.

These goals can be further enhanced by intelligence location identification. The vendor claims studies have shown that operators may lose up to 60% of network capacity depending on the devices used and where it is placed. But by positioning the receivers at the most optimum location alone, 30% of radio capacity can be conserved. To identify the best location for them, end-users are aided by intelligent (but user-friendly) mobile apps.

The FastMile 5G receiver’s high gain antennas can reach a range of up to 10 dBi. At its peak, the receiver can make the most of four component carrier aggregation (a technique that boosts mobile data) of up to 300MHz of bandwidth.

Inside premises, the second kit, the new 5G Gateway 7, uses antennas with up to 8 dBi gain, as well as carrier aggregation of up to 200MHz of spectrum. Using dual-band WiFi 7, it combines both 4G and 5G radio and is 3GPP release 17 compliant.

“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.” said Jamie Lenderman, Research Manager at Omdia (a sister company to telecoms.com). “Solutions like Nokia’s new FWA 5G indoor and outdoor devices check a lot of these boxes for those operators looking to deploy FWA services.”

Nokia’s VP of Broadband Devices, Dirk Verhaegen, went on to say “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.”

FWA is increasingly hailed as an alternative solution to other fixed technologies by the industry. 5G FWA in particular is compared and contrasted to fibre broadband in debates around consumer affordability, economic viability for operators, and unlocking access in remote and hard to reach areas.