Nokia and NTT DOCOMO 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.

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.

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.