Nokia partnered with Telia Finland to launch what the pair claimed was the first commercial standalone (SA) 5G network with network slicing for fixed wireless access (FWA), allowing the operator to prioritise network traffic based on demand.

Telia stated it is introducing SA 5G to its FWA home broadband services and the deal with Nokia involves the vendor upgrading its entire next-generation RAN infrastructure to enable network slicing.

Nokia will use equipment from its AirScale portfolio to conduct the upgrade, including 5G radio and baseband products which have been used by other operators to transition towards standalone networks.

Through network slicing, Telia can “allocate a portion of the network for 5G FWA”, flexibly balance traffic between this and mobile users, and provide new services.

By being able to specify slices with different levels of speed, latency and data quality, Telia said it could provide a range of broadband deals, based on customer requirements.

Nokia’s 5G FWA gateways come as part of the deal and Telia will also employ the vendor’s carrier aggregation technology to make best use of its spectrum assets to improve coverage in key regions.

The Finnish vendor is already Telia’s exclusive provider of 5G RAN and core in Finland.

Jari Collin, CTO at Telia Finland, said encouraging feedback from customers following the launch of SA 5G led it to bring the offering to its FWA services.

He noted the “most innovative applications” will be built on Telia’s 5G network “and we want to keep Finland at the forefront of its development as this technology matures”.