Nokia and Anterix have announced the successful completion of the B106 data call at Nokia’s Lab in Dallas, Texas. The companies collaborated following the standardization of B106 in 3GPP Release 18 to widen the options for chipsets and devices to support private wireless use cases for utilities. By continuing to invest in enhancing private wireless solutions for the utility market, Nokia and Anterix are making it easier for energy suppliers across the United States to adopt private LTE/5G networks.

Following the standardization of B106 in 3GPP Rel 18, Nokia integrated this technology into its AirScale Radio portfolio. Enabling B106 paves the way for a broader device ecosystem, including Cat-M devices which can be ideal for utility use cases. Nokia’s AirScale Radio capabilities can be leveraged to enable the coexistence of legacy B8 and B106 devices and ensure seamless migration for existing customers to B106.

Anterix is the largest holder of licensed spectrum in the 900 MHz band (896-901/935-940 MHz) throughout the contiguous United States, Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. It enables the deployment of utility mission-critical applications on 900 MHz private wireless networks, with the ability to extend over long distances.

Adoption of 5G can help utilities take advantage of future key features to support use cases, such as optimizing grid performance and automating smart grids, with more stringent network performance requirements helping to extract more value from their investment in the network.