Nokia trials 5G during Norway military exercise, gains award for private wireless

Nokia has announced it has trialled 5G technology in a defence scenario during Joint Viking 2025, a Norwegian military exercise, while it has been recognised by global analyst and advisory firm Omdia as sole Champion, Market Momentum Leader in its 2025 Private 5G market radar report.

The biennial Joint Viking event is a Norwegian winter exercise, and this time around 10,000 Norwegian and allied soldiers took part.

It gathered participants from nine nations – Norway, Canada, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK and the US – to enhance allied interoperability, train on protecting Nato’s northern flank and test Norway’s ability to receive allied reinforcements.

Throughout the trial, Nokia’s 5G technology enabled field personnel from multiple nations with advanced defence applications, enhancing situational awareness, facilitating seamless cooperation across military units and providing real-time information to field personnel.

Nokia’s products in the trial included 5G AirScale radio products and 5G Standalone Core technology tuned for defence applications, to enhance tactical communication and information systems among participating nations.

Nokia’s 5G communications platform gave military personnel access to real-time battlefield intelligence, said to facilitate faster decision-making. The Joint Viking command and control leadership used this data to improve situational awareness, streamline operations, and enhance both safety and efficiency throughout the exercise.

“The scalable, secure and reliable connectivity that 5G provides has an important role in strengthening the tactical communication capabilities of defence forces,” said Giuseppe Targia, head of space and defence at Nokia. “The successful trial of 5G in the field … highlights Norwegian Armed Forces’ position as a leader in deploying advanced communication technologies for tactical operations.”

The Norwegian Material Defence Agency, an agency directly subordinate to the Norwegian Ministry of Defence, already collaborates with Norway’s mobile operators as key service partners. Recently, the Norwegian energy and telecom group Lyse and Nokia entered into a strategic agreement to enhance tactical communication offerings for Norway, using their expertise and strength in critical communications.

Outlining the role of tech in the trial, Kennet Nomeland, radio architect and Norway’s Ministry of Defense liaison for 5G Compad, said: “We collaborate with the industry to develop innovative defence solutions based on commercial technologies. A prime example is advanced software functionality, which enables Nokia’s 5G systems to operate in GNSS-denied environments, along with their next-generation radio equipment, engineered for reduced size, weight and power. Nokia’s 5G technology was instrumental in the success of the Joint Viking exercise.”

Meanwhile, the Omdia report highlighted Nokia’s 5G Private Wireless vision, product portfolio and investment in mission-critical connectivity services tailored for industrial enterprises in multiple verticals, including manufacturing, mining, ports, airports, utilities, public safety and railways. The partner ecosystem was recognised for accelerating Industry 4.0 transformation.

Omdia also cited Nokia for evolving its private wireless products beyond connectivity to an edge compute and AI platform for industries, verticalised services built on research, testing and validation through segment blueprints, as well as an ecosystem of applications and partners such as Kyndryl, Telefonica Tech and Verizon.

“Nokia’s continued leadership in the private 5G market is underpinned by its comprehensive and forward-looking approach to industrial connectivity,” said Pablo Tomasi, principal analyst of private networks and enterprise 5G at Omdia. “By offering an integrated platform that benefits an array of industries, Nokia is setting the pace for Industry 4.0 transformation.”