Nokia introduces indoor 5G station

MANILA, Philippines — Internet users in the Philippines will get another option for their connectivity needs by December with mobile giant Nokia Corp. planning to introduce its indoor 5G base station.

Nokia Philippines head Carlos Reyes yesterday said the Finnish multinational would bring in Nokia Smart Node to the Philippine market before the end of the year at the latest.

The product offers indoor mobile module solution that can provide 4G and 5G coverage for both residential and business subscribers.

Nokia Smart Node will enter the local market at the same time as SpaceX — owned by world’s richest Elon Musk — plans to launch Starlink services here. The internet from space extended by Starlink guarantees a download speed of 200 Mbps with latency of just 20 ms.

Last July, SpaceX announced it would start selling Starlink dishes in the Philippines within the year. By December, Filipinos can buy the Starlink equipment at $599 or about P33,000 per unit and avail of connectivity service for $99 or at least P5,500, monthly.

As for Nokia, Reyes said the firm is working with its customers in the country for the introduction of the Nokia Smart Node, with negotiations pointing to a launch either by the close of the year or the beginning of 2023.

“It is a very new product. We are doing some proof of concept in conjunction with customers of the Philippines connected to our research and development. The expectation is that in the near future, we can bring it here,” Reyes said.

Unlike Starlink dishes though, Reyes said Nokia has yet to identify how much it would cost to avail of a Nokia Smart Node, adding that the price would  depend on the volume of demand for the product.

“The demand is there because with the current topology of the network, the coverage is needed indoors. Nokia Smart Node is a very good solution technologically to complement the coverage of existing outdoor networks,” Reyes said.

Nokia expects demand for its indoor 5G base station to come from offices and schools. Some of the requirements may also originate from the gaming community in need of reliable connectivity.