Nokia declared a major step forward in efforts to provide private 5G wireless services to utility companies after completing what it claimed was the first data call employing B106 standardisation, an approach incorporated into 3GPP Rel-18.

The Finnish vendor worked with US-based Anterix to make the data call, which took place in a Nokia facility in the country.

Anterix is ā€œthe largest holder of licensed spectrum in the 900MHz bandā€ in the contiguous US, Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico, which it uses to deliver private wireless networks to utilities.

Nokia explained the standardisation of B106 into Rel-18 paved the way ā€œfor a broader device ecosystem, including Cat-M devices which can be idealā€ for utilities.

It noted 5G can open fresh private network use cases for utilities, including ā€œoptimising grid performance and automating smart grids, with more stringent network performance requirements helping to extract more valueā€ from their infrastructure investments.

Anterix CTO Carlos Lā€™Abbate said the sector has a ā€œconfirmed evolution path to 5Gā€, in turn bolstering utility companiesā€™ efforts to modernise grids and meet environmental goals.

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