Nokia and SFR first in France to conduct a 5G New Radio call using 3.5 GHz spectrum

Nokia and SFR have successfully completed a 5G call, using the 3GPP-compliant 5G New Radio (NR) system over-the-air on the 3.5GHz frequency band. The test took place on  May 3rd, 2018, at the Nokia 5G Test Network and Competence Center in Paris-Saclay, France.

The 5G call used Nokia 5G NR technology, incorporating the Nokia 5G-ready AirScale radio platform and Cloud RAN technology together with 3GPP-compliant end user test devices. A cloud infrastructure based on the Nokia AirFrame Datacenter solution was built to support Cloud RAN.

The 5G New Radio NR standard, agreed by the 3GPP in December 2017, is designed to support a wide variety of 5G applications and enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) services. Nokia 5G NR systems use smart antennas to deliver multi-gigabit throughput speeds and millisecond low-latency. This will enable operators such as SFR to increase network capacity in spectrum below 6GHz frequency bands to deliver wide-area coverage.

Nokia is a key supplier to SFR, specifically on the radio access network, and this latest milestone is fully in line with SFR’s ambition to be at the forefront of innovation for the benefit of its customers.

François Vincent, head of Mobile Network at SFR, said: “SFR is developing a roadmap for the evolution of its networks that takes into account the benefits and complexity of implementing 5G. The joint projects and trials will enable us to meet future data demand in the most effective way, while exploring new ways to deliver our media content that will increase the subscriber experience.”

Marc Rouanne, president of Mobile Networks at Nokia, said: “Nokia is pleased to support SFR in accelerating its implementation of 5G and developing new business models that will enrich the user experience. By testing 5G technologies now, we can place SFR ahead of the needs of its data-hungry customers while preparing the operator for the launch of next-generation services.”