Nokia and Wipro to develop 5G use cases for accelerating technology adoption

Telecom networking equipment major Nokia has partnered with information technology player Wipro to develop 5G use cases for telecom operators and other enterprise customers.

The Finland-headquartered company said it is testing several 5G use cases at its research and development lab in Bengaluru while Wipro is expected to provide domain-based solutions required for the ecosystem.

The turnkey solutions are expected to help operators and enterprise customers realise full value from their 5G investments, a media statement from Nokia said.

The collaboration will explore the technical and operational feasibility of use cases such as augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR)-based immersive learning experience as well as drone-based applications for agriculture, public safety, energy and utilities, real-time network analytics, lifecycle operation management and edge computing.

KR Sanjiv, chief technology officer at Wipro, said the joint partnership will be able to accelerate the adoption of 5G technologies for enterprises.  While Nokia will provide a live 5G end-to-end system, including radio, core and devices in its lab, Wipro will integrate its application solutions for 5G use cases that include software solutions and user devices along with key system integration and delivery capabilities.

Nokia said its network function virtualisation infrastructure (NFVI)-based secured edge cloud comes in handy for low-latency use cases whereas its internet of things (IoT) impact platform-based device management to host and manage the lifecycle support 5G use cases in different industry verticals. 

“We are committed to supporting Indian operators in their 5G journey. Our work with Wipro is a crucial step in this direction. The initiative also supports the Indian government’s plans to fast-track the development of use cases that will be socially beneficial and unique to India,” said Randeep Raina, chief technology officer at Nokia India.

The companies have already conducted lab tests of two use cases – drone-based transmission line monitoring within the utilities domain and in immersive entertainment experiences for large scale events such as sports championships, aimed at enhancing the user experience. The companies are looking to further develop and validate other use cases that can be rapidly executed for field trials for mass adoption.

The central government is planning to conduct 5G spectrum auctions by the end of this year.

Union minister for communications and information technology Ravi Shankar Prasad said earlier this week that reforms are expected in the pricing of the 5G spectrum.