Zain Saudi Arabia is deploying Nokia's FastMile technology to provide a superior customer experience to its customers.
The deployment, the first for Nokia FastMile in the Middle East and Africa region, follows a successful trial of the technology which recorded speeds of 20 Mbps and provided seamless 4G macro network coverage to reach users located in a challenging environment.
Zain is deploying the technology in the western and southern region of the country and also in the cities of Jeddah and Makkah. Interestingly, the FastMile solution will not only be deployed in the typical rural environments, but more in suburban areas, where no fiber or copper network is available, using the 1800 MHz band.
Service providers usually struggle with in-house coverage in a 4G network. Nokia FastMile allows them to improve in-house coverage and provide ultra-fast mobile broadband speeds to end-users by cost effectively re-using an existing macro network infrastructure. In this case, the increase in throughput will enable Zain to build additional revenue streams by launching new and innovative services, as well as help attract new subscribers.
Nokia FastMile lets service providers use 4G LTE radio access network connectivity in difficult to reach areas. It comprises of four components: an outdoor modem, indoor router, LTE radio access, and controller. The modem connects to the nearest LTE base station to provide high-speed broadband connectivity.The trial was conducted on an FDD-LTE network with Flexi Multiradio 10 Base Station.
Eng. Sultan Abdulaziz AlDeghaither, CTO, Zain Saudi Arabia
We are enthusiastic about the success of the Nokia FastMile trial and the subsequent deployment of the technology, which will help us address the problem of poor in-house coverage and provide a much-improved user experience.
Ali Al Jitawi, Head of the Zain Saudi Arabia Customer Team, Nokia
This deployment starts a new chapter in our longstanding relationship with Zain. We look forward to working with them to deliver a better broadband experience. FastMile provides operators with an innovative way to re-use existing networks to meet growing broadband requirements.
