Nokia, on Thursday announced that the company and NTT DOCOMO INC. have agreed to collaborate on research and standardization of 5G technologies and to work jointly on a 5G proof of concept (PoC) system. This move builds on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the two companies in January 2014 to research future radio access experimental systems.
 
“Expanding our cooperation with NTT DOCOMO on 5G radio technology is an important step towards defining future mobile networks. Future wireless networks will interconnect not just humans but also machines and objects, creating a vibrant overlay of virtual and physical worlds with a huge variety of use cases. Together with the industry, we need to make sure that 5G technology offers the right tenets to serve these use cases flexibly and profitably”, said Hossein Moiin, executive vice president and chief technology officer, Networks.
 
To meet the demand for extreme capacity and performance, future 5G networks will need to overcome the challenges that will become relevant for operators, such as guaranteeing cell-edge rates in excess of 100 Mbps and reducing latency by a factor of 10. Nokia’s hands-on innovation approach builds on existing cutting edge technologies, enabling the transition towards higher bandwidths and superfast mobile broadband.
 
“We chose Nokia as our partner for the 5G research project based on its clear vision as well as its extensive mobile broadband experience and technology leadership,” said Dr. Seizo Onoe, Chief Technology Officer at NTT DOCOMO.

                                                              
 
The two companies will continue to cooperate on the research of future radio access systems, with an initial focus on exploring the potential of the millimeter wave technology at the 70 GHz spectrum band. The experimental 5G PoC system will be implemented using National Instrument’s (NI) baseband modules which make up the state-of-the-art system for rapid prototyping of 5G air interfaces today.
 
Nokia and NTT DOCOMO have a successful three-year history of cooperative research on various technologies and standards, including collaborative work on 3G and LTE from its early stage. Their work supported LTE global market development with projects conducted in NTT DOCOMO’s research labs in Europe and Japan. With its Technology Vision 2020 for future mobile networks and active participation in worldwide research and standardization of 5G technologies, Nokia has the expertise to support operators on their path to next-generation mobile broadband.