Finnish telecommunications service provider, Elisa, has selected Ericsson and Nokia for a comprehensive 5G technology deployment spanning 5G Core and 5G Radio Access Network (RAN).
The new agreement, with an option to extend, includes both 5G Non-standalone (5G NSA) and 5G Standalone (5G SA) products and solutions.
Ericsson Cloud Packet Core products and solutions, are already live in Elisa’s 5G network. As part of the partnership extension, Ericsson is now deploying its dual-mode 5G Core solution to add support for standalone technology in Elisa’s network.
The partnership will also see Ericsson 5G RAN products and solutions, from the Ericsson Radio System portfolio, introduced and deployed in Elisa’s 5G network from 2021. The network operates on 3.5GHz and 26GHz frequency bands.
Ericsson Spectrum Sharing for both 5G Standalone and 5G Non-Standalone will also be deployed as part of the deal. This will enable Elisa to dynamically share 4G and 5G traffic, while significantly enhancing capacity and coverage. Ericsson Spectrum Sharing will also allow Elisa to improve its mid- and high-band coverage through carrier aggregation with 5G in lower bands.
Veli-Matti Mattila, CEO, Elisa, says: “We’ve had a long and fruitful partnership with Ericsson and we are happy to continue our co-operation on a deeper level. This new wider partnership increases our capabilities not only in the network environment in Finland, but also in the international digital services area. With this partnership our telco automation domain – Elisa Automate and Polystar – also gets Ericsson’s radio network technology as a development platform, which enables new innovations to our automation service portfolio. I’m looking forward to further enhancing our customer experience, together with Ericsson, for our Finnish and our global customers.“
Börje Ekholm, President and CEO, Ericsson, says: “We are delighted to strengthen our partnership with 5G pioneer Elisa. Our 5G Core and RAN technology leadership will further enhance Elisa’s ambitions to deliver the benefits of digitalization, the Internet of Things and Industry 4.0 to its customers. This partnership with Elisa also underlines our growing strength in Europe in 5G Core and RAN. We remain determined to be the trusted partner of choice for operators across Europe as they commit to 5G.”
Ericsson and Elisa have a history of innovating together, including close cooperation on 5G. The companies teamed up recently to achieve the Nordics’ first end-to-end 5G standalone connection in Kirkkonummi, Finland. In 2019, the two partners also piloted Ericsson’s private network solution for Elisa’s enterprise customers.
Nokia has been selected by leading Finnish mobile operator Elisa as the nationwide supplier of 5G RAN. Nokia, which will provide its AirScale 5G RAN portfolio, will deliver enhanced ultra-fast, low-latency mobile broadband services to both consumer and enterprise customers. The deal continues Nokia’s long-standing partnership with Elisa into the 5G era and will focus on Elisa’s efforts to digitize Finland and make it a leading global 5G market. Deployment is expected to begin immediately.
To support digitalization in Finland, Nokia will supply its flexible AirScale 5G Radio Access portfolio for enhanced mobile connectivity, as well as additional use cases such as Massive IoT and Ultra-Reliable Low Latency services (URLLC). This strengthens the partnership Nokia and Elisa have in other areas such as Core and IP Networks, as well as in Telco Cloud and IT domain.
The project will also focus on mobile network technology migration so that new radios will serve both 5G and 4G subscribers across the country. Elisa plans to decommission its 3G network by 2023 to support its move to 5G services.
The deal demonstrates Nokia and Elisa’s commitment to sustainability, with Elisa being the first operator to have installed a commercial liquid cooling 5G base station. The solution reduces the potential energy expense of the base station by 30 percent and CO2 emissions by approximately 80 percent. Nokia has delivered zero-emission products to over 150 customers worldwide and is committed to decreasing emissions from its operations by 41 percent by 2030.
Pekka Lundmark, President and CEO at Nokia, said: “Nokia has a long-standing partnership with Elisa, which we are excited to extend into the 5G era as their strategic supply partner. Together we have delivered many technology ‘firsts’, including installing the first-ever commercial liquid cooling 5G base station, which highlights our shared commitment to decreasing emissions while providing world-class connectivity. I look forward to continuing to work closely with Elisa on its ambition to digitize Finnish society.”
