Nokia partnered with Ukkoverkot and Finavia to install a Private 5G network at the Helsinki airport as early as 2018. The goal was to establish reliable, safe, and fast networks that covered the whole airport and increased data reliability. An airport is full of people and the demand of technology is great. There are people who are trying to watch movies on their phones, trying to call their family members half a world away, but also there is the airport trying to monitor flight times and wind speeds on the runway. All of those are able to be connected through Private LTE.

Nokia’s website says that, “by deploying our solutions, you can put wireless and wireline broadband and digital technologies to work to achieve any goal, whether it’s streamlining airport operations, modernizing ANSP services, bringing broadband to the skies or supporting virtual MRO inspections.” They also pledge to make services smarter, with machine learning capabilities and advanced analytics. Together, the plan would keep all aspects of the journey together in one connected bandwidth to streamline connection all over the airport’s campus.

Finavia CIO Harri Karjalainen says on the video that, “we want to guarantee a very smooth passenger experience” while being efficient and effective. The speed of change is coming quickly, he noted, and the airport is trying to stay up to date with changes as they come. The decision to move to Private LTE made it possible to meet its support and digitization needs. 

The benefits of Private LTE are currently meeting the needs of the airport, Karjalainen says. He sees it as a core part of their future infrastructure at Helsinki airport. It is essential that data networks are everywhere on the airport to ensure connection, and Private 5G has been able to meet that challenge better than their traditional carrier. 

To find out more about the new program, visit Nokia’s video here. To learn more about private LTE, return to locallte.com.