Nokia and Claro showcase the power of 5G in Colombia

Nokia has launched an ambitious live 5G network trial in Colombia with mobile operator Claro Colombia. The pilot, which is the largest to take place in the country, will cover mobile, fixed wireless access (FWA) and corporate 5G services in 3.5GHz spectrum.

It aims to deliver Claro’s strategy of utilizing 5G connectivity to support sectors such as e-health, smart cities and immersive education via public and private partnerships.

The trial, which will initially cover four cities including Bogota Medellin Cali and Barrancabermeja will run for six months to coincide with the availability of spectrum granted by Colombia’s Ministry of Information Technologies and Communications for 5G pilots. A number of use cases will be tested, including enhanced mobile broadband, FWA, enterprise private wireless solutions, and remote and immersive education. Nokia is the incumbent vendor and only infrastructure supplier working on this 5G trial.

Nokia will supply its AirScale portfolio to support both indoor and outdoor coverage, including AirScale Base Stations, AirScale massive MIMO Adaptive Antenna solutions and other radio access network (RAN) solutions. This will enable Claro to deliver market-leading 5G experiences to subscribers with low latency, connectivity and capacity.

Nokia’s AirScale Radio Access is an industry-first commercial 5G solution enabling operators to capitalize early on 5G. Nokia will also supply its FastMile 5G gateways, which will be used to ensure subscribers receive a high-speed, best-in-class ultra-broadband experience in the home.

Nokia’s 5G core portfolio will give Claro a sharp focus on scalability, automation and performance to quickly deliver new digital services that leverage the full capabilities 5G has to offer. The deal includes the cloud-native Cloud Mobile Gateway (CMG) and Cloud Mobility Manager (CMM) appliance solutions, both of which are from Nokia’s Cloud Packet Core (CPC) portfolio. The CPC cloud-native design will give Claro the capability to rapidly launch services to its customers starting with 5G non-standalone option 3x architecture and a smooth evolution to 5G standalone architecture.

For the trial, Nokia will also provide services, including network design, digital deployment, technical support for operations and maintenance, as well as professional services.

Claro is also using Nokia Software solutions to operationalize the 5G RAN and Core networks, including SON (Self -Organizing Networks), subscriber data management, analytics, and performance monitoring.

The 5G trial is part of Claro’s nationwide 700 MHz spectrum deployment, targeting 1,348 sites in 30 provinces within a period of five years. Claro is leveraging one of the most common spectrum bands to increase capacity, coverage and accelerate the adoption of mobile broadband services and optimal conditions for digitization and revitalization of the economy.

Carlos Zenteno, CEO at Claro Colombia, said: “We have the superior commitment to keep Colombia connected and at the forefront of technology while advancing towards providing more coverage in the entire territory and nationwide with mobile services. We believe that connectivity is an enabler of equity, we also started 5G tests in the country, which is the next step in the evolution of connectivity and speeds. In partnership with Nokia we seek to have a positive impact on health, education, transportation and smart cities with alliances with public and private institutions in cities such as Bogotá, Medellín, Barrancabermeja and Cali.”

Tommi Uitto, President of Mobile Networks at Nokia, said: “We are excited to work on this ambitious pilot, which is the biggest ever of its kind in Colombia. We are a long-standing supplier of Claro and look forward to working with it on delivering compelling 5G experiences to enterprise, consumer and corporate businesses as its sole vendor.”