Nokia sees private networks as an LTE-to-5G transition

HANNOVER, Germany–Nokia has made clear it sees private networks for industrial users as a market segment with huge potential. And, this week at the Hannover Messe industrial trade fair in a country with a massive industrial economic base, Stephane Daeuble, Nokia’s head of industry vertical and private wireless networks marketing, discussed how he sees connectivity figuring into the evolution of industrial processes. While 5G is obviously a high priority for Nokia and a technology being explored by industrial players like Bosch, Daeuble described how investments today in LTE provide immediate benefits while also laying a foundation for a future transition to 5G. He said this is the third year Nokia has attended Hannover Messe, increasing the size of its presence each year. “As we walked around the booths last year, we saw very few people with LTE-connected things,” he said. He acknowledged that 5G is an increasingly buzzy topic among industrialists but noted key industrial-facing tehnologies–particularly ultra reliable low latency communications with vertical-specific profiles, will be further developed in forthcoming 3GPP 5G New Radio releases.