Nokia and AT&T stated that the first call on AT&T's network using C-Band spectrum, which was awarded barely three months ago, was successful. The call was made with a Qualcomm Snapdragon X55 5G Modem-RF System, Nokia AirScale baseband, and 5G massive MIMO (mMIMO) 64T64R C-Band radio on a 5G smartphone form factor mobile test device.

The C-band spectrum offers a solid blend of coverage and capacity, and it will help AT&T achieve its goal of expanding 5G coverage and performance across the country. AT&T has stated that by the end of 2023, C-Band will be available to 200 million people.

Early in May, engineers from AT&T and Nokia met in Detroit, Michigan, to showcase the potential of the newly accessible n77 spectrum (n77: 3700–3980Mhz). The test used one of Nokia's new mMIMO antennas, which are designed to work in the n77 C-Band, together with the latest Nokia 5G software. The collaborative team will continue to test performance in the months ahead of the commercial network's launch later this year.

Our planned C-Band launch with Nokia will add 5G capacity and coverage where it’s needed. Nokia’s C-Band portfolio has the capabilities and performance to enable AT&T to deliver an exciting and powerful 5G experience that our subscribers have come to expect from us”, stated Kevin Hetrick, Vice President, Construction & Engineering, AT&T.

Nokia and AT&T have agreed to a five-year arrangement to deploy AT&T's C-Band network across the United States. It will improve mobile broadband capabilities and expand the number of 5G applications and services available to a wide spectrum of consumers and businesses.

Support for 5G standalone (SA) and non-standalone (NSA) networks, cloud-based implementations, and Open RAN solutions are all part of Nokia's C-Band portfolio. For a seamless and powerful user experience, Nokia's C-Band 5G RAN solutions integrate with AT&T's existing Nokia LTE RAN equipment.

AT&T’s Vice President went on to say that “AT&T is committed to bringing the power of 5G to even more businesses and communities across the nation. In fact, we’ve committed to covering more people with C-band by the end of 2023 than any other carrier”.

In June 2020, Nokia became the first vendor to successfully conduct a 5G trial in the C-Band spectrum in the United States, utilizing its commercial 5G AirScale portfolio. Nokia expanded its portfolio to include a variety of particular goods in advance of the FCC C-Band spectrum auction, which ended in January 2021.

“This is an important milestone and achievement as we support AT&T in its efforts to extend its commercial grade 5G services across the country utilizing C-Band spectrum. We are proud to be a long-term partner of AT&T and to work collaboratively on this innovative project. Nokia’s flexible and comprehensive range of solutions covers all customer requirements and we look forward to continuing to work together with AT&T to help deliver incredible 5G experiences to its customers across the country”, said Ed Cholerton, President, Nokia, Americas.

Nokia's C-Band portfolio supports both autonomous (SA) and non-standalone (NSA) 5G networks, as well as cloud-based implementations and Open RAN technologies, giving AT&T flexibility in its 5G rollout. For a robust user experience, Nokia's C-Band RAN technology will work in conjunction with AT&T's existing Nokia LTE RAN equipment.

‘Mid-band' is a term used to describe a group of people who are C-Band spectrum offers an excellent blend of capacity and coverage, as well as allowing for speedy 5G deployment and service introduction, which is critical in all markets.