Nokia is working with Brazil’s CPQD telecommunications R&D centre on 5G use cases such as fixed wireless access, smart cities and Industry 4.0.

CPQD is an independent government-affiliated research body. The collaboration aims to explore an Open RAN compliant radio intelligent controller platform to develop 5G use cases.

Finland-based Nokia hopes to develop applications jointly based on the Open RAN compliant near-real-time RAN intelligent controller (RIC). The partnership will focus on 5G use cases in cooperation with Nokia’s Brazilian mobile operator customers including fixed wireless access, smart cities, IoT for Industry 4.0 and critical networks, which will be customised for the Brazilian market.

Leveraging Nokia’s SEP service enablement platform, which combines the capabilities of the RIC and multi-access edge computing, the collaboration is designed to create innovative use cases at the network edge. These cases will use Nokia’s AirFrame open edge server and will allow CPQD to explore the potential of 5G to deliver an enhanced network performance with lower energy consumption, greater reliability and security.

Nokia’s SEP enables use cases at the edge of the RAN. It runs on the edge or far edge data centre and can share infrastructure with cloud RAN or other virtualised network functions using open API capabilities to enable an agile and dynamic edge cloud environment for secure innovation with ecosystem and third parties.

Nokia’s edge-optimised AirFrame open edge server provides secured and small footprint edge cloud infrastructure for indoor and outdoor environments.

The RIC is a virtualised 5G optimisation technology that adds programmability to the radio access network (RAN) and enables artificial intelligence and machine learning as well as new services. It provides a framework for deploying applications from multiple sources. The near-real-time RIC platform provides functions and interfaces that boost optimisation and automation for faster, more flexible service deployments.

“This important partnership will explore the potential for innovative 5G use cases that will have real-world value in Brazil across a range of different areas, such as smart cities and fixed wireless access,” said Ari Kynäslahti, head of technology and strategy at Nokia Mobile Networks. “Our RAN intelligent controller will play a critical role in this research, helping to explore and trial new cutting-edge use cases that will put Brazil at the forefront in the 5G era.”

Founded in 1976, CPQD is one of Brazil’s largest independent research and development institutions in the field of information technologies. Its mission is to enhance Brazil’s technology-related competitiveness as well as improve the digital inclusion of society. It is the first research centre in Latin America to work on applications for the RIC platform.

“This is an important collaboration that will help to shape the future of 5G networks in Brazil,” said Frederico Nava, director at CPQD. “We look forward to a fruitful and successful partnership with Nokia and look forward to introducing a range of innovative 5G-based use cases to the market.”