The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has granted U.S. Cellular authority to boost spectrum connectivity due to the outbreak of the coronavirus with Nokia working with the company in several markets.
Because people are staying in their homes more than ever before and not going to work, school or public spaces, networks are experiencing increased mobility and broadband network traffic demand due to COVID-19. In order to meet growing demand, the FCC has granted a 60-day temporary spectrum license to U.S. Cellular and other service providers across the country.
The temporary spectrum was integrated remotely on Nokia Airscale Radio Access Network (RAN) bringing increased network capacity to 250 sites in parts of California, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin.
Additionally, U.S. Cellular is using Nokia’s Endpoint Security to detect new and established forms of malware related to COVID-19. Trojans and ransomware as well as new apps are cropping up, posing as virus outbreak location maps or maps for locating medical masks, but instead hijack end-user devices.
The NetGuard Endpoint Security allows service providers to detect malware across multiple device types and minimize the impact of malware and trojans. The security gives detailed visibility to customer devices that are affected as well as identify the specific type of malware being downloaded and the overall threat level of security operations so that actions can be taken.
