Nokia has launched private wireless designed for small-and mid-sized industrial sites. The DAC PW Compact is designed to provide secure, reliable private wireless for small enterprise sites and is up to 60 percent more energy-efficient than Wi-Fi, providing lower energy costs. 

Based on Nokia AirScale small cells, the Nokia DAC PW Compact is designed to deliver pervasive connectivity in tough industrial environments. Its smaller form factor aligns to the coverage requirements of small industrial sites, and offers a cost-effective connectivity option for small industrial premises.  

The platform is suitable for small enterprises within ports, manufacturing, mining, petrochemical, retail, and many more industrial segments. It has plug-and-play deployment and IT native operability, and provides configurations for indoor, outdoor, and mixed radio coverage. Larger enterprises deploying the Nokia DAC PW Compact in small facilities will have a single multi-site private wireless solution deployed across all their campuses. 

As enterprises expand their private wireless deployment over time, there is an upgrade path to add incremental capacity, users, and radio configurations, as well as allow for the addition of Wi-Fi technology. By converting the deployed edge to Mission Critical Industrial Edge (MXIE), enterprises can transform their private wireless solutions to a full platform for digital transformation thanks to the MXIE capabilities and its selection of Nokia and third-party OT use case applications. 

Leo Gergs, Principal Analyst at ABI Research, said: “With Nokia DAC PW Compact, Nokia extends their product portfolio in a very important way. Our research shows that Total Cost of Ownership is enterprises’ main factor for deciding which connectivity technology to deploy. It will be providing a very competitive cost structure and TCO to other wireless technologies, like Wi-Fi. Nokia DAC PW Compact will become an important building block for Nokia and its channel partners to create a value proposition around private cellular that is easy to understand and digest for enterprises, particularly in the logistics sector where warehouses, and other segments like ports and airports that might only need a handful of 5G radio units to achieve high levels of constant coverage.”   

Stephan Litjens, Vice President of Enterprise Campus Edge Solutions at Nokia, said: “With the addition of the Nokia DAC PW Compact to our portfolio, we can now address the growing demand from smaller sites and many industries, such as the growing warehousing segment, who need the secure, low-latency and reliable connectivity provided by private wireless to digitally transform their operations. Regardless of the size of the operation, Nokia has a solution that will connect people, machines, and sensors in an energy-efficient manner and at an economical price point – equipping an even wider range of industries for their journey to Industry 4.0.”