Nokia private wireless flies at Leonardo as Elisa extends for 5G advanced

The growing commitment of enterprises and comms providers to utilise advanced communications platforms has been shown through two contracts for Nokia with aerospace, defence and security firm Leonardo and leading Nordic operator Elisa, which have private wireless connectivity and advanced 5G technology to improve their respective businesses.

International industrial group Leonardo has 60,000 global employees based at production capabilities in Italy, the UK, Poland and the US. It is said to approach global security through the helicopters, electronics, aeronautics, cyber and security, and space sectors, and is a partner on programmes such as Eurofighter, JSF, NH-90, Fremm, GCAP and Eurodrone.

The company attributes its expertise in the mission-critical communications sector to relying on several decades of successful design, supply, delivery and service of mission-critical networks, ranging from land mobile radio systems to the next-generation broadband systems for public safety and critical infrastructures.

The project will see the deployment of mission-critical services worldwide integrated into Nokia’s Core Enterprise Solutions. Nokia will embed Leonardo’s flagship MC_linX mission-critical broadband services platform into its enterprise services portfolio. This technology combination will look to deliver on a worldwide basis a pre-integrated offering that accelerates deployment, reduces complexity and ensures operational readiness. The intended result is to enable faster emergency response, increasing operational safety and improving service reliability – ultimately benefiting communities and essential services worldwide.

Compliant with 3GPP standards, the MC_linX platform enables mission-critical push-to-talk, video and data services over private and commercial LTE/5G networks, supporting real-time communication, enhanced situational awareness, and fast, coordinated responses. For their part, Nokia’s core enterprise services are said to be designed to offer customised, low-footprint core modules optimised to support mission-critical communications in public safety, utilities and railway operations.

Claudio Rando, senior vice-president of marketing and sales at Leonardo’s cyber and security solutions division, said: “We are thrilled that Nokia selected Leonardo’s MC_linX for the integration into their Core Enterprise Solutions after an in-depth competitive process.

“Leveraging the high scalability and reliability of our mission-critical services platform together with Nokia, we provide an entirely made-in-Europe, unparalleled communication ecosystem for public safety and critical infrastructures.”

Meanwhile, Nordic operator Elisa has extended by four years its contract with Nokia as part of its plans to enhance the capacity, coverage and speed of its network. The deal, which will cover both Estonia and Finland, will look to prepare Elisa’s network for the advanced 5G era, supporting what are claimed to be ultra-fast speeds and low latency at near-instantaneous levels. This is regarded as crucial for supporting applications such as AI, virtual reality, augmented reality and industrial automation.

Under the agreement, the companies will integrate their respective product and solution portfolios to Nokia’s AirScale radio access network portfolio to support Elisa’s efforts to deliver premium 5G services to its customers.

Nokia will supply its latest generation of Advanced 5G-ready Habrok 32 Massive MIMO radios and its Pandion portfolio of FDD multi-band remote radio heads for coverage across multiple deployment scenarios, as well as its Tuuli 26e and Ponente, Lodos, and Levante AirScale baseband offerings. The deal includes network optimisation, maintenance and support services.

“As a pioneer in 5G, we are investing in new 5.5G features that enhance AI usage in phones, computers and businesses,” said Elisa chief operating officer Sami Komulainen. “The world’s first customers are already using 5.5G in Elisa’s network, and together with Nokia, we are expanding access to this technology.

“We are developing our network to meet the changing customer needs and creating a strong foundation for new innovations.”