Bharti Airtel is getting ready for 5G as it is going to conduct trials of Nokia’sfronthaul solution which can support 4G and 5G services. Information or date about when the trails will commence has not been shared.
Fronthaul is the link between baseband unit and radio, and modernization of this part of the transport network is essential to deliver high-speed and low Latency of 5G services.Nokia’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 (CPRI) and enhanced Common Public Radio Interfaces (eCPRI).
Sanjay Malik, Head of India Market, Nokia, said in a statement, “The modernisation of the transport infrastructure is crucial for ensuring the ultra-high speed and extremely low latency, promised by 5G. We look forward to this trial with Bharti Airtel, which is a crucial step towards preparing the networks for 5G.”
“The upgrade of the transport network is also 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, Bharti Airtel, said.
Earlier this week, Ericsson had also announced that Vodafone Idea has selected the company to deploy 5G-ready LTE equipment in India. Under this partnership, Ericsson will deploy the equipment across eight circles where Vodafone Idea has its operations.