Optus bolters regional 5G network with Nokia tech

Optus is set to improve its regional 5G network with upgrades provided with technology from Nokia.

The upgrade comes via the vendor’s latest generation of its Habrok 32 Massive MIMO radios and Levante ultra-performance baseband solutions from the AirScale portfolio.

Nokia’s Habrok radios are powered by the vendor’s ReefShark System-on-Chip (SoC) technology and offer a 33 per cent boost in output power, stated the vendor.

These devices also include an “Extreme Deep Sleep” power saving mode to switch off unused resources to reduce radio cell energy consumption.

Meanwhile, Levante, a 5G baseband capacity card, offers “ultra-performance and enhanced scalability”, Nokia said, while reducing energy consumption by half compared to previous product generations.

Additionally, Nokia will also provide Ponente, another baseband control card, to support increased traffic growth.

Nokia’s AirScale base stations include ReefShark SoCs, which provide AI acceleration capabilities and can scale up to support extended AI workloads.

Optus vice president of access network strategy, planning and quality Kent Wu said the deployment “marks an important step in meeting the growing demand from our customers for enhanced connectivity in Australia’s regional areas”.

“We know connectivity is vital for our customers so they can stream their favourite content, download TV shows and movies, or upload pictures and videos onto their favourite social media platforms,” he said.

“The Habrok 32 massive MIMO radios bring the right balance of performance and cost efficiency for upgrading our 5G network to elevate consumer experiences and drive business productivity.

“Through this partnership, we are expanding our reach for customers and bringing them high-speed, reliable connectivity to more customers, communities and enterprises.”

Nokia president of mobile networks Tommi Uitto added the deal strengthens the vendor’s long-term partnership with Optus.

That partnership included the telco’s live network trial on its 400 Gbps system back in December 2023, which saw optical transport speeds of 800 Gbps.