Valoo taps Nokia to offer multi-gig fibre broadband in Finland

Looking to allow the operator to deliver network connections to multiple customers in Finland using the same fibre network and accelerate internet connections up to 20 Gbps and beyond, Nokia is deploying a 10G broadband network for service provider Valoo (Adola Oy).

The Finnish optical fibre network operator has a stated mission to make Finland an information society that meets international standards by bringing data transmission connections based on optical fibre to as many Finnish households as possible. It believes that in the digital world, a fibre optic connection is part of the basic infrastructure – like electricity, water and sewage – to which everyone has a right.

Valoo is 100% owned by DIF Capital Partners, an independent infrastructure equity fund controlling more than €15bn of investments globally. Valoo focuses on fibre broadband access and is undergoing large-scale fibre developments in the Finnish market. In February this year, the company announced that as well as building fibre networks it will offer internet service subscriptions itself and make its network available to third-party operators.

The new network will connect 200,000 homes in and around 30 cities by the end of 2026.  The technology deal includes fibre access nodes for the central office and Nokia’s Altiplano broadband access controller, which includes software defined access networking (SDAN) capabilities and Nokia 7360-FX Lightspan series access node (OLT).

The Altiplano Access Controller offers a suite of network management as well as software-defined networking (SDN) control functions to automate, assure, visualise, optimise and enhance broadband networks. Altiplano automates network lifecycle management activities and provides operators a single pane of glass to manage the entire access network domain. Its open modular cloud-native microservices-based architecture with open APIs allows operators to integrate with OSS/BSS, IT and cloud platforms, and onboard their own applications.

Nokia 7360-FX Lightspan is a high-capacity access node designed for massive scale fibre roll-outs. Usually located in telecom central office, it connects thousands of users via optical fibre, aggregates their broadband traffic and sends it deeper in the network. The fibre access node supports multiple fibre technologies including GPON, XGS-PON, 25GS-PON and Point-to-Point Ethernet to deliver a wide range of services with the best fit technology. Lightspan MF is said to be the industry’s first family of software-defined fibre access nodes designed to provide non-blocking delivery of massive scale, high-speed broadband services with 25G PON, 50G PON and beyond. 

With Nokia’s Quillion chipset at the heart of the solution, the XGS-PON deployment is ready for 25G PON when Valoo wants to add more capacity. Deploying Quillion is also said to mean lower emissions.

“With Nokia’s advanced Lightspan multi-gig fibre broadband solution we can provide our customers the best possible technology there is in the fibre world. With Nokia’s new Altiplano controller we can bring advanced open access network solution to Finnish market,” said Valoo chief executive officer Tommi Linna regarding the deployment.

“And last but not least: Nokia’s multi-gig fibre has a 95% smaller carbon footprint thanks to its energy efficiency gains compared to traditional point-to-point solutions. I couldn’t be more proud that we are the first fibre company in Finland executing Nokia’s multi-gig fibre to customers – starting this spring.”

Sandy Motley, president fixed networks at Nokia, said: “With our Altiplano controller, Valoo has laid the foundation for automation in the broadband access network, which is essential for operators looking to innovate with advanced digital broadband offerings while keeping their operational expenditure under control.”