Nokia Launches ReefShark Chipsets to Boost 5G Network Performance
Nokia Oyj has introduced its new ReefShark chipsets, designed to significantly enhance 5G network performance, reduce size, and lower power consumption.
Espoo, Finland – Telecom equipment manufacturer Nokia Oyj has unveiled its new ReefShark chipsets, leveraging in-house silicon expertise to dramatically reduce the size, cost, and power consumption of operators' networks while meeting the demanding requirements of 5G.
The ReefShark chipsets incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) innovations from Nokia Bell Labs and Nokia's extensive capabilities in antenna development. The silicon was developed at Nokia's facilities in Finland (Oulu, Espoo, Tampere) and Sunnyvale, California. By improving the performance of radio frequency (RF) units, such as those in antennas, the ReefShark chipsets will halve the size of Massive MIMO antennas. They also reduce power consumption in baseband units by 64 percent compared to current solutions.
Designed for compute capacity, the ReefShark chipsets function as plug-in units for Nokia's AirScale baseband module. AirScale is software-upgradeable to full 5G functionality. These plug-in units are set to triple the throughput from Nokia's current 28 Gbps to up to 84 Gbps per module. Additionally, chaining AirScale baseband modules is expected to support base station throughputs of up to 6 terabits per second, addressing the growing demands for network densification and enhanced mobile broadband in urban areas.
The chipsets are reported to include AI capabilities for real-time radio monitoring and optimization, as well as support for network slicing to meet new business use cases. Nokia is collaborating with 30 operators on these enhancements, with field deployments scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2018.