MFA Certifies First MulteFire Device and Base Station to Enable Private Networks in Unlicensed Spectrum

News Highlights:

• First MFA certified user equipment is the Nokia Industrial MulteFire fieldrouter 700, available globally for deployment with the certified Nokia MulteFire radio access point and Nokia Digital Automation Cloud (DAC) application platform. The combined solution will help jumpstart the ecosystem for private LTE-based networks operating in unlicensed spectrum, including the global 5 GHz band.
• The MFA Certification Program provides end users with confidence that MulteFire® Certified devices have passed interoperability testing and conformance with the specifications.
• With the first MulteFire Certified solution and recent announcement of Uni5G™ Technology Blueprints, MFA will significantly contribute to 4G and 5G private network adoption in unlicensed, shared and locally licensed spectrum.

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- MFA, an international organization championing the global industry adoption of private networks, is gaining industry momentum with the recent certification of the Nokia Industrial MulteFire fieldrouter 700 and announcement of Uni5G Technology Blueprints. The Nokia MulteFire solution, which is available for deployment with Nokia Digital Automation Cloud, will enable MulteFire LTE-based private network adoption worldwide, unlocking access to unlicensed spectrum. With deployment available globally, it can be used by small and medium enterprises without access to licensed spectrum and it can bring additional capacity as a complementary layer to wireless networks and enable new nomadic use cases to advance Industry 4.0.

In addition to supporting 4.9G/LTE private networks, MFA recently announced its expansion to 5G with Uni5G Technology Blueprints, which help provide guidance to enterprises looking to deploy 5G private networks. MFA is also developing best practices and targeted guides to help industry verticals implement the key 3GPP 5G specification features that are relevant to their specific deployment.

The MFA Certification Program ensures that devices have implemented the MulteFire specifications correctly and are able to interoperate with devices from other manufacturers.

“The Nokia MulteFire solution has passed rigorous interoperability testing at our Authorized Test Lab DEKRA,” said Scott Fischel, MFA Certification Group Chair. “We congratulate Nokia on delivering the world’s first MulteFire Certified end-to-end solution that will provide end-users with confidence that it can meet the robust connectivity requirements offered by MulteFire 4.9G/LTE private wireless.”

“Private 5G and LTE networks are a rapidly growing market and will account for over $5B in global enterprise expenditure by 2025,” said Pablo Tomasi, Principal Analyst, Private Networks, Omdia. “MFA aims to support and accelerate the private 5G networks market through both this certification program and by tackling the issue of replicability and complexity through the delivery of Uni5G Technology Blueprints developed to simplify deployment for different industry verticals.”

The MFA Certification Program is available to MFA members, and it will help facilitate further expansion of the MulteFire private wireless ecosystem. For companies interested in joining the MFA, visit www.mfa-tech.org/become-a-member.

Resources:

• Interview: Meet MFA Certificate Authority
• Interview: Meet MFA Authorized Test Lab – DEKRA
• Video: Uni5G and MulteFire Private Networks for Manufacturing
• Press Release: MulteFire Alliance (MFA) Simplifies Path to 5G Private Network Deployment for Enterprise
• White Paper: “5G Private Networks for Maritime Use Opportunities for Digital Port Automation,” Beecham Research
• White Paper: “The Importance of Spectrum Liberalization for Private 5G Networks,” ABI Research

About MFA

MFA is an international organization that is championing the global industry adoption of private networks using MFA-defined MulteFire specifications for LTE and Uni5G Technology Blueprints for 5G. With Uni5G or MulteFire, enterprises can efficiently deploy their own optimized, reliable and secure private network in unlicensed, shared or locally licensed spectrum. For more information, visit www.mfa-tech.org.

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