New infrastructure, supplied by Nokia, is part of drive to connect underserved communities, including fixed wireless access
Nokia has signed a four-year deal with EOLO, the first B Corp in the Italian telecoms sector the country’s leading fixed wireless access (FWA) provider. The Finnish vendor will deploy the first 5G Standalone (SA) millimetre wave (mmWave) RAN in Europe. EOLO is working to connect underserved communities in Italy.
Nokia will supply equipment from its 5G AirScale portfolio including AirScale baseband solutions, Massive MIMO radios, and Remote Radio Head products, all of which are based on Nokia’s energy-efficient ReefShark System-on-Chip technology.
Nokia will also provide its Shikra mmWave radios which is designed for urban environments like shopping malls or sports stadia, and support services such as real-time, multi-user, ultra-high-definition video streaming or augmented reality.
FWA for rural areas
Nokia’s Shikra mmWave solution can also deliver fixed wireless access (FWA) services to rural or underserved communities. The solution includes a Nokia FastMile 5G mmWave outdoor receiver to connect homes to the mmWave network.
Guido Garrone, CEO at EOLO commented, “This is clear evidence of our ambition to build a FWA network able to offer the best experience for our customers (retail, business and wholesale), reaching all the areas of our country not connected by FTTH technology. Together with Nokia and the other partners involved in the deal, we will be able to bring FWA connectivity up to 1Gbps to the whole Italian market.
“By installing a new 5G infrastructure, we will see the further development of our FWA network that will continue to improve the experience for our customers as well as bridge digital divide and digital speed divide. I look forward to working closely and collaboratively with Nokia and our other partners on this project.”