Nokia has announced its 360 High Gain 5G mmWave with likely volume deployments in 2023, which could increase Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) broadband capacity by between five and ten times. It said mmWave requires line-of-sight to operate, and signals can easily be disrupted by outdoor or in-home obstacles. Nokia 360 High Gain overcomes this by amplifying available signals and finding the strongest connection.
FWA broadband devices typically use 4G or 5G mobile signals for fast home connectivity. Most 5G FWA deployments use low band (sub 2 GHz) or mid band (2-6 Ghz) radio frequencies, but as FWA networks develop, more spectrum will be needed.
Operators aim to boost speeds by using even more frequencies, notably from the high band spectrum known as mmWave (24 GHz to 40 GHz). However, higher radio frequencies have propagation difficulties, as they are more likely to be impeded by physical obstacles.
Nokia’s 360 High Gain 5G mmWave technology captures a 360 mmWave fingerprint of the indoor environment, picks up direct and reflected signals from any direction, and adapts to the changing environment, through advanced analytics.
The vendor said it has validated the 360 High Gain 5G mmWave FWA technology in its research laboratories, and technology trials are going on in various urban environments. Volume deployments will start in 2023 and are expected to focus initially on operators with subscribers in dense urban environments where high speeds and high capacity is essential for market penetration.
