Bharti Airtel to test Nokia’s 5G fronthaul solution

Fronthaul is the link between baseband unit and radio, and modernisation of this part of the network is essential to deliver high-speed and low latency of 5G services.

The trial is part of Bharti Airtel’s strategy to make its network future ready to meet the growing demand for high-speed data (pradeep gaur/mint)

Finnish telecommunication giant Nokia on Sunday announced Bharti Airtel will conduct a trial on its homogenous fronthaul solution, which can support 4G, 5G and enterprise services through a common platform.

Fronthaul is the link between baseband unit and radio, and modernisation of this part of the network is essential to deliver high-speed and low latency of 5G services.

The trial is part of Bharti Airtel's strategy to make its network future ready to meet the growing demand for high-speed data, driven by the digital revolution in India.

"The upgrade of network is essential to cater to the booming consumption of mobile broadband services and enable world-class digital services. Nokia is our longstanding partner and we look forward to their support in our journey towards 5G," Randeep Sekhon, CTO at Bharti Airtel, said in a statement.

Nokia's solution has the potential to improve performance of service providers' existing network even as it prepares the network for 5G and to meet the future demand. It allows service providers to meet the growing demand for bandwidth and deliver 5G services.

The Finnish company's converged fronthaul transport solution helps bring down fibre requirement through multi-channel bi-directional transmission on a single fibre. The solution supports multiple interfaces, including common public radio interfaces and enhanced common public radio interfaces.

"We look forward to this trial with Bharti Airtel, which is a crucial step towards preparing the networks for 5G. The ring architecture will help in adding resiliency to the network and ensure that it is able to meet the growing demand for bandwidth," said Sanjay Malik, Head of India Market, Nokia.