Nokia has defined 4.5G Pro as the next step in a technology path that will optimize the journey to 5G. 4.5G Pro will enable major increases in LTE capacity, coverage and speed where and when they are needed. Powered by the Nokia AirScale radio portfolio, 4.5G Pro will deliver ten times the speeds of initial 4G networks, making it possible for operators to offer gigabit peak data rates, the company said. Using extended carrier aggregation techniques across up to five frequency bands, operators will be able to leverage their diverse paired (FDD) and unpaired (TDD) licensed spectrum as well as unlicensed spectrum, in line with local national regulations. 4.5G Pro builds upon Nokia 4.5G technology for which the company already has more than 90 customers across the globe.
While 4.5G Pro focuses on commercial devices expected available in 2017, Nokia is already planning for the next stage with the 4.9G system, which will offer significant capacity and data rate enhancements and network latency reductions, the company said. It will use cloud-based networks with intelligence added to the edge in order to reduce latencies to less than 10msec. The system is also expected to take advantage of new spectrum bands, such as Band 43 and the previously announced Band 42 of TDD-LTE spectrum and the Citizens Broadband Radio Service proposed in the US for shared use of the 3.5 GHz band.
