Nokia successfully pilots 4G, 5G FWA network slicing with Saudi's Mobily

The ongoing pilot which took place in a multi-vendor environment in the capital city of Riyadh included sliced access, transport and core networks with management and assurance capabilities. Nokia claims to be the first vendor to deploy 4G and 5G network slicing in a live multi-vendor network across all domains including access, transport and core.

Nokia and Saudi Arabian telecom operator Mobily have successfully piloted the world's first 4G and 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) network slicing, on the latter's live commercial network, the Finnish telecom giant said on Wednesday.

Commenting on this achievement, Ari Kynaslahti, Head of Technology and Strategy at Nokia Mobile Networks, said, "Nokia was the first vendor to offer a slicing solution and we are proud to continue our long-standing partnership with Mobily to offer 4G and 5G network slicing services to their customers."

The ongoing pilot which took place in a multi-vendor environment in the capital city of Riyadh included sliced access, transport and core networks with management and assurance capabilities. Nokia claims to be the first vendor to deploy 4G and 5G network slicing in a live multi-vendor network across all domains including access, transport and core.

Nokia slicing solution works in LTE, 5G non-standalone (NSA) and 5G standalone (SA) networks. Leveraging this solution, the Saudi operator can divide its network into multiple virtual networks and offer FWA service tiers and premium services to its customers utilizing advanced network resource allocation mechanisms.

During the pilot, Mobily utilized Nokia's AirScale 4G/5G base stations with its NetAct solution as well as Nokia's routers, Network Services Platform (NSP) and Digital Operations software. Additionally, the operator used existing third-party core as well as Nokia's FastMile 4G/5G FWA gateway and third-party CPE products.

"Mobily continuously works in partnership with global vendors to try new innovative technologies. Network slicing will enable mobile operators to rapidly provide, manage and assure services within minutes. Each slice can have a different network performance, quality, routing and security capabilities as well as Key Performance Indicators for service assurance," said Alaa Malki, CTO, Mobily.

The pilot will enable Mobily to deliver new services and a high-quality customer experience in Saudi Arabia.