Barcelona: Finnish telecom giant Nokia has said 5G will happen faster than expected and it is planning to dramatically increase its investments in the new technology.
"We are planning to dramatically increase our investment in 5G this year and unleash the power of our massive innovation engine," Nokia President and CEO Rajeev Suri said during a media and analyst briefing yesterday here.
During the occasion, Suri also announced a new 5G-ready radio access product, which supports any technology, from 2G, LTE and 5G when it arrives. It also includes a new base station with future-ready baseband that will give customers a better connectivity experience and also uses less energy.
"We are already at the forefront of making 5G a reality and enabling massive capacity and massive connectivity - this is an integral part of our vision. 5G must happen fast because important IoT use cases demand it. If we know that 5G can help save lives, improve our environment, and make our lives better, we need to move faster, not slower," Suri said.
Suri also announced Nokia's acquisition of Nakina, a Canadian software company that specialises in preventing, identifying and eliminating security threats. Nokia said the acquisition, expected to close in the first quarter 2016, is part of its priority to have the best network security in place to enable 5G and Internet of things (IoT).
The company also launched a USD 350 million IoT investment fund through its private venture firm, Nokia Growth Partners.
The fund will invest in promising companies primarily around the connected enterprise, consumer IoT, connected car, digital health as well as technologies with a focus on capabilities in big data and analytics.
Nokia said the fund will support it in defining future business opportunities and the technical underpinnings for the rapidly growing IoT market.
