Nokia and U.S. Cellular have agreed to add 5G mmWave capabilities in the 24 GHz and 28 GHz spectrum bands. U.S. Cellular will deploy Nokia’s AirScale portfolio, with Cloud RAN capabilities, to provide enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) 5G mmWave.

The Nokia AirFrame open edge solution for Cloud RAN will also be included in the deployments, enabling a virtualised RAN that provides scalable benefits such as, significant Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) reduction through simplification automation and operation efficiency gains, as well as through the support of open ecosystems.

To support U.S. Cellular’s advanced IoT and enterprise customers, the company has also opted to include Nokia’s Worldwide IoT Network Grid (WING) solution as a deployment component, which allows the scaling of 5G IoT services faster and more cost-effectively.

U.S. Cellular is beginning its multi-year deployment of 5G mmWave now, with commercial availability planned for 2021.

Mike Irizarry

Mike Irizarry, CTO, U.S. Cellular says, “U.S. Cellular and Nokia are taking bold steps forward together in the realm of 5G modernisation and connectivity. With 5G mmWave technology from Nokia, we can provide our customers with the leading-edge capabilities of high performance, ultra-low latency 5G. By readying our network with these key foundational network elements, we can offer an even wider range of communications services that enhance our customers’ wireless experience.”

Ricky Corker, president of customer operations for Americas, Nokia, comments, “We are pleased to extend our relationship with U.S. Cellular with 5G mmWave technology and enable the company to deliver to its consumer and enterprise customers exciting new 5G services that require lightning performance with no discernable latency. This is a big leap forward in the provision of fast, secure and reliable networks in the Western, Mid-West and Mid-Atlantic regions.”

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