SoftBank and KDDI tap Nokia to deploy shared RAN in Japan

Nokia said on Thursday it has been selected by Japan's SoftBank and KDDI as one of the vendors to deploy a shared radio access network (RAN) in the country, ensuring their subscribers get 5G services faster.

"Nokia has been at the forefront of network sharing around the world since the deployment of the world's first commercial shared network. We have a long-standing partnership with both SoftBank and KDDI and are excited to work collaboratively with them on this project," said Tommi Uitto, President of Mobile Networks at Nokia.

Under this partnership, Nokia will install its AirScale Multi-Operator Radio Access Network (MORAN), allowing SoftBank and KDDI to share the RAN while keeping core networks separate. MORAN is a way for multiple network operators to share radio access network infrastructure, reduce their costs, expand the coverage of their networks and achieve an efficient and effective roll-out of new technologies.

Nokia's flexible MORAN solution is triple mode and covers LTE, 5G as well as Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS). Mobile operators and enterprises can utilize this solution for private networks, as well as public networks or industrial campuses.

The Finnish network equipment vendor will provide its new generation of ReefShark SoC based plug-in cards to increase the capacity of the AirScale baseband. Nokia's new ReefShark-powered plug-in cards are easy to install and simplify the upgrade and extended operation of all AirScale deployments. They are claimed to deliver up to eight times more throughput compared to previous generations.

Commenting on this partnership, Tomohiro Sekiwa, Senior Vice President and CNO, SoftBank, said, "In order to deliver the best 5G experience to customers nationwide as quickly as possible, SoftBank is working with KDDI to develop a shared 5G network. In this effort, a Multi-Operator Radio Access Network is a key technology that will bring various efficiencies and we look forward to the high performance of Nokia's products in this regard."