The FCC has certified Nokia’s industrial LTE and 5G drone technology (Nokia Drone Networks). Nokia claims this is the first “native 4G/5G drone-in-a-box solution” to receive full approval by the agency, according to TelecomTV.
The technology is targeted at industrial and public sector customers, and will be sold with its private LTE and 5G products, notes Mobile World Live. It incorporates network measurement capabilities from Rohde & Schwarz.
The drone solution supports beyond visual line-of-sight (BVLOS) operations. Nokia said it will lean on its channel partnerships in the U.S., notably with system integrator Kyndryl, with which it has formed a close partnership in the Industry 4.0 space, but also with AT&T and Verizon, and others, reports Mobile World Live.
The partnership with Rohde & Schwarz has been important to receive FCC certification. The pair originally signed a deal last year to embed the latter’s QualiPoc measurement tools into the drone platform, notes TelecomTV.
Nokia explained: “Resilient connectivity is critical to remote drone operation, real-time streaming of data collected during a drone mission, and BVLOS operation using a large set of 3GPP spectrum bands. Research and development efforts have pushed the boundaries in terms of RF design and connectivity performance. Innovative features such as full network connection redundancy, multi-operator support, and hot failover also differentiate Nokia Drone Networks in terms of operational reliability.”
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
Reader Interactions