Nokia and
Intel are looking to edge forward in the 5G race by jointly developing custom
silicon chipsets that will be included in Nokia’s AirScale radio access
products being shipped worldwide.
As part of
the 5G ‘powered by ReefShark’ portfolio, the collaboration between the
companies highlights Nokia’s continued focus on the development of its 5G
portfolio, strengthening AirScale and further advancing the capabilities of its
ReefShark chipset.
ReefShark chipsets leverage the latest silicon chip
design technologies and manufacturing capabilities. This results
in superior data throughput and lower energy consumption to support Nokia’s 5G
AirScale network solutions. Nokia is working with multiple partners to support
its ReefShark family of chipsets, which are used in many base station elements.
By adopting ReefShark widely in its AirScale portfolio,
Nokia is significantly boosting performance and lowering the energy
footprint of 5G network rollouts.
To realise the benefits of a common architecture from cloud
to edge, Nokia and Intel will further their collaboration by incorporating the
latest Intel Xeon processor technology in Nokia’s cloud
infrastructure. Nokia’s AirFrame data center solution for edge and core will
also use the latest second generation Intel Xeon Scalable processor with
built-in AI acceleration.
The processor is also included in both Nokia’s AirScale all-in-cloud virtual RAN (vRAN) and 5G core solutions to meet the requirements demanded by 5G-ready solutions. Nokia’s AirScale Cloud RAN virtualises radio functions to deliver ultra-low latency and high bit rates for demanding services, as well as provide the flexibility to deliver scalability, agility and operational efficiency to meet other demands.
Dan Rodriguez, corporate vice president and general manager
of Intel’s Network Platforms Group, said: “Implementing technology
innovations from the core to the edge of the network is key to unlocking the
full potential of 5G.
“Through our collaboration with Nokia, our broad portfolio
of products and ASIC capabilities, we are showing the value that can be realised
with a consistent, high-performance architecture across the intelligent 5G
network.”