Compared to Huawei’s radios, Nokia is lagging behind in all key areas, particularly in PAs (the biggest power consumers). This gap is narrowing as Nokia also shifts to using GaN technology (Habrok, Doksuri). This means that Nokia radios currently in the field have a high idle heat load even without traffic.
Enhanced passive heat dissipation requires increasing the airflow through the outer casing, which further exposes the equipment to rain, dust, and animal waste. Although the aforementioned factors do not damage the electronics, they further degrade heat dissipation and thus the reliability of the system.