Nokia and A1 have signed a contract to expand next-generation 5G mobile communications in Austria with radio access and cloud-native 5G core technology.
The network technology will allow for both fixed and converged networks and high-speed experience over cellular wireless. The technology was tested on Austria’s first campus network for Vienna Airport and in the city of Gmünd. Data transfers on the A1 network were carried out at the beginning of this year.
Globally, countries are rolling out 5G equipment in anticipation of the upcoming release of the first 5G smartphones that will debut later this year. Equipment deployments are being made in select cities in order to take advantage of the high speeds, low latency and new use cases that will be available with the next-generation cellular technology.
Recently, KT selected Ericsson to launch commercial 5G services in Korea and other deployments are happening simultaneously in order to capitalize on the new technology.
The Nokia and A1 deal continues a previous expansion of 3G and 4G/LTE mobile networks and the rollout of Austria’s fiber-optic network.
Billed as a technology that will allow for peak data rates up to 10 Gbps, 5G is roughly about 10 times the speed of current cellular technology known as 4G/LTE. The technology not only provides better real-time communication between mobile devices but will allow for faster online gaming, augmented and virtual reality, robots in factories and outdoors, longer-flying drones, connected self-driving cars and new infotainment options.
