Building Estonia’s Pocket Siren 5G Broadcast testbed: Why Levira chose Nakolos

Levira entered the Pocket Siren project in Estonia – one of Europe’s most advanced 5G Broadcast public warning projects – looking for a partner that could adapt quickly as deployment requirements changed. 

That was one of the key reasons why Levira selected Big Blue Marble and its Nakolos platform. For Levira, the project was an opportunity to move beyond theory and build practical deployment experience with 5G Broadcast. It quickly became clear that success depended as much on working relationships as technology selection. 

Choosing the right deployment partner 

From the outset, Levira wanted practical field experience. “Our objective was to build a real-world 5G Broadcast public warning testbed, not a laboratory demonstration,” says Kristo Kaasan, Chief Technology and Information Officer at Levira.

The organisation wanted to understand how 5G Broadcast could support public warning and future media services during testing. Achieving that goal required far more than deploying technology alone. Levira needed a partner that could support integration, testing and ongoing monitoring as the project evolved.  

Flexibility in an emerging technology ecosystem 

One of the biggest lessons from the Pocket Siren project was how quickly operational requirements evolved once testing moved into live environments.  As new devices and transmission conditions emerged, teams needed to adapt workflows and adjust deployment models. 

This highlighted the importance of combining operational stability with flexibility, allowing the project to progress as new technical and operational insights were gathered through field testing. For Levira, flexibility was particularly important given the pace of change within the wider 5G Broadcast ecosystem and the realities of operating within a defined public-sector innovation budget. 

Previous experience with alternative approaches had exposed the limitations of more rigid deployment models. 

“The issue was not that the alternative solution could not work technically,” says Kristo Kaasan, Chief Technology and Information Officer at Levira. “The issue was fit. We needed an agile and adaptable system, reasonable commercial terms and a partner willing to think along with us.” 

According to Kaasan, Nakolos provided the level of flexibility required to support rapid change throughout the deployment. “It allowed us to test different configurations and move quickly as we learned from the field,” he says. 

Working together during deployment 

Beyond the platform itself, Levira also points to the working relationship behind the deployment as a major factor in the project’s success. Pocket Siren required coordination across multiple teams and suppliers, including integration, testing and deployment activities. Close collaboration between engineering teams became increasingly important as requirements changed during deployment. 

“Our experience has been very positive,” says Kaasan. “The Nakolos team has been responsive, technically competent and willing to adapt as the project evolved. 

“We had to test, learn, adjust assumptions and sometimes change workflows. The cooperation model allowed us to do that quickly.” 

Building the future of 5G Broadcast together 

As governments and infrastructure providers look for more resilient approaches to public communications, projects like Pocket Siren are helping shape how 5G Broadcast may develop across Europe. For Levira, one of the biggest benefits has been the experience gained through practical deployment work with a highly agile engineering partner. 

As 5G Broadcast deployments expand, the ability to combine technical expertise with responsive engineering support will become increasingly important. Projects such as Pocket Siren demonstrate how broadcasters and infrastructure providers can work together to build practical 5G Broadcast deployments more efficiently. 

Connect with us to explore how we can accelerate interoperable 5G Broadcast deployments together.