Nokia simplifies Cloud RAN deployments with new packet switch

nokia 1830Nokia has launched the 1830 Time-sensitive Packet Switch (TPS) family of time-sensitive networking (TSN) switches to simplify Cloud RAN deployments.

With 1830, mobile operators can cost effectively evolve to 5G Cloud RAN, saving up to 50 percent compared to alternative fronthaul solutions, Finland-based Nokia claims.

Scalable, ultra-low latency, and deterministic mobile transport are required to meet the stringent infrastructure demands of Cloud RAN architectures, and the heightened user experience expectations of 5G time-critical services.

The TPS family supports applications that demand ultra-low latency. Cloud RAN architecture enables these applications by distributing certain RAN functions to the same MEC nodes at the edge of the network.

Scalable, ultra-low latency, and deterministic mobile transport is required to meet the stringent infrastructure demands of Cloud RAN architectures, and the heightened user experience expectations of 5G time-critical services.

The 1830 TPS creates deterministic paths through a switched Ethernet network. This makes the product unique as such determinism was previously unavailable in packet-switched networks, according to Nokia.

Nokia also claims that 1830 TPS can achieve nearly 40% greater bandwidth efficiency than competing alternatives.

With Radio-over-Ethernet encapsulation, the 1830 TPS is able to transport legacy CPRI streams together with native Ethernet traffic, including eCPRI and traditional backhaul traffic, onto a unified time-sensitive network.

Marcus Weldon, CTO and president of Bell Labs at Nokia, said the solution will provide operators with transport solutions that support existing fronthaul and backhaul traffic, as well as Cloud RAN architectures with optimized performance.

“The 1830 TPS allows them to optimize the end-to-end transport of their deployed 4G and new 5G radio access networks with a single platform,” Weldon said.