Finland-based telecom equipment maker Nokia said it will assist Ukkoverkot, the Finnish private network operator, to modernize the LTE network.
Ukkoverkot offers wireless data communications services for infrastructure operators, the industrial IoT market, public safety authorities, the maritime industry and both residents and enterprises in remote areas.
“The agreement with Nokia enables us to roll out the advanced public protection, IoT and campus network functions as they are available,” said Mikko Uusitalo, CEO of Ukkoverkot.
Ukkoverkot operates its own LTE-based mobile data network and private LTE networks, offering connections using 450 MHz and 2.6 GHz spectrum bands. Ukkoverkot uses its low-frequency network for industrial and public safety customers and high frequency network for private micro-operator networks.
Nokia will upgrade Ukkoverkot’s old network technology to Nokia’s LTE-based solution to improve network performance. This enables Ukkoverkot’s customers in industrial IoT settings to capitalize on opportunities related to new Industry 4.0. applications.
Low-band spectrum, which has better propagation characteristics, provides a larger coverage area than high-band spectrum. Nokia said its 450 MHz LTE network solution is ideal for delivering services in sparsely populated areas such as the Nordic countries.
“We are among the first using a private LTE network in Finland, supporting our current and future connectivity needs and strategy at the Helsinki airport,” said Harri Karjalainen, CIO of Finnish airport operator Finavia.
Nokia will be supplying Nokia LTE 450 which will be deployed for the first time in Finland. In addition, Ukkoverkot will benefit from Nokia’s TD-LTE 2600 and Nokia Compact Network and Nokia FastMile solutions.
Nokia FastMile solution provides up to 12X typical coverage area and 3x throughput compared to standard mobile broadband network.
NetAct Compact virtualized mobile network management system optimized for smaller networks delivers the core capabilities that Nokia NetAct provides for large networks for troubleshooting, assurance, administration, software management and configuration management.