Nokia has introduced a brand new 5G radio answer designed to ship high-capacity, high-performance communications for rail operators worldwide. The corporate says this answer lays the muse for the Future Railway Cellular Communication System (FRMCS). It contains the business’s first industrial 5G radio for the 1900 MHz (n101) band and Nokia’s Core Enterprise Resolution for Railways, a platform purpose-built to speed up digital transformation within the transport sector.
A Leap Towards FRMCS
In line with Nokia, FRMCS, which is ready to exchange the decades-old GSM-R (2G) normal, will grow to be the following international normal for railway communications within the coming decade. Constructed on 5G expertise, FRMCS is designed to allow safe, dependable, and seamless connectivity throughout borders whereas supporting superior automation, enhanced passenger providers, and new digital purposes.
In an announcement on Wednesday, August 27, 2025, Nokia highlighted its international management in railway communications, citing many years of expertise in GSM-R deployments throughout greater than 20 international locations. “The corporate has been on the forefront of FRMCS improvement, collaborating with rail operators, governments, business, and standardization our bodies to assist form the usual and allow its international deployment,” Nokia mentioned.
5G Core Expertise for Seamless Migration
“The drive towards digitalization calls for the form of high-speed connectivity and information capabilities that legacy techniques merely cannot present, creating an pressing want for rail operators worldwide to modernize,” mentioned Tommi Uitto, President of Cellular Networks at Nokia. “Our industrial 5G answer, backed by many years of confirmed rail business experience, displays our dedication to laying the muse for the following era of railway operations. We provide a future-proof, versatile expertise platform that helps a easy transition to FRMCS whereas bettering operational effectivity, security and the general passenger expertise.”
EU-Backed Trials to Speed up Transformation
The corporate said that the brand new 5G radio is engineered for mission-critical operations, providing strategic coexistence with legacy GSM-R networks to make sure a seamless migration path. Its cloud-native 5G standalone core delivers the complete suite of FRMCS functionalities, supporting modular, scalable deployments from regional to nationwide networks. The expertise will endure trials as a part of the EU-funded FP2-MORANE-2 undertaking, which goals to advance digital rail operations in Europe.
“The shift to a 5G answer introduces highly effective capabilities that align completely with the operational wants of recent railways, notably in border crossing eventualities,” Nokia added.
Platform for Subsequent-Era Rail Networks
The corporate says its providing is designed to unlock a number of advantages for rail operators and passengers, together with real-time management and monitoring of trains, predictive upkeep, and built-in mission-critical communications for voice, video, and information. It additionally permits dynamic passenger data techniques, improved security measures, and decreased power consumption.
The brand new answer features a industrial 5G radio for the 1900 MHz band from Nokia’s AirScale portfolio, paired with its railway-optimized Core Enterprise Resolution. It’s complemented by the corporate’s portfolio of mission-critical IP, optical, and information heart networking merchandise.
