Nokia launches new 4G, 5G core network software solutions for public safety, power utility firms

Nokia on Tuesday launched new 4G and 5G core network software solutions for the field and wide area network (FAN/WAN) needs of public safety and power utilities sectors, to strengthen its leadership in the private wireless space.

The Finnish telecom gear maker estimates that the addressable market for core networks solutions in the enterprise FAN/WAN private wireless communications space is expected to increase 50% and reach 1.5 billion euros by 2027 from approximately 1 billion euros today.

Nokia said its new solutions are designed specifically for the mission-critical network needs of public safety and power utilities, and include “highly optimised” footprint and operational requirements, along with streamlined deployment and support.

The solutions are expected to be commercially available in late 2023, and will provide unified 4G and 5G data, voice, and subscriber/device management capabilities, and create streamlined adoption paths across technology and application generations. These include the use of broadband-enhanced communication tools for public safety and the introduction of IoT in power utilities.

“Nokia Core Enterprise Solutions will provide important catalysts for accelerating digital transformation for enterprises in public safety and power utilities. They will modernize large scale enterprise networks, as well as provide important broadband capabilities and a clear and path to deploying private 5G for the WAN,” said Fran Heeran, SVP & General Manager of Core Networks, Cloud and Network Services, at Nokia.

“A select set of government and business operations provides essential safety, energy, and transportation functionality required for a safe society and robust economic growth. These organizations have a unique requirement for wide-area wireless operations across sweeping geography with secure, ubiquitous, and high-quality connectivity enabled by private 4G and 5G networks,” said Ken Rehbehn, Principal Analyst at CritComm Insights.

Rehbehn added that Nokia’s pre-integrated, sector-optimised mission-critical core network solutions can reduce risk and help speed “challenging wide-area private network deployments”.