All the intelligence and automation in the world is for naught, if users can’t actually reach the network in the first place. Geography, topology and cold hard economics all contribute to making the last mile a critical yet hugely challenging part of a telecom operator’s business. The digital divide that has arisen between well-connected urban and underserved rural communities is both real and vital for operators and governments to address.

In this research note, we look at one example of a vendor innovating to address the technical and economic challenges of connecting remote, hard-to-reach locations: Nokia, with its FastMile 5Gmm receiver.