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Zain KSA Turns On 3-Carrier LTE-Advanced in Jeddah

Zain KSA Turns On 3-Carrier LTE-Advanced in Jeddah Image Credit: Zain

Zain KSA and Nokia have implemented LTE-Advanced three component carrier aggregation technology that boasts data speeds of up to 187.5 Mbps at the high-profile business and residential districts of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia’s second largest city. The rollout using Nokia's commercially available Flexi Multiradio 10 Base Station and FDD-LTE software saw aggregation of a total of 25 MHz of spectrum on the 900 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2100 MHz bands.

The implementation of three component carrier aggregation in the FDD-LTE band (FDD-LTE 3CC) concludes an extensive commercial network trial by both companies. As a result, Zain will be able to increase data speeds at the cell edge – close to neighboring cells, where interference and signal loss can impact the subscriber experience – to meet the evolving demand from its customers, and in turn support the growth of its business and customer base.

According to Nokia, Zain customers will be able to enjoy enhanced quality of experience when downloading HD video or sharing images at events where network congestion can occur due to high demand for data access. The higher speeds are already available in several high-traffic areas of Jeddah, allowing users of Category 6 (CAT 6) capable devices to benefit from available and upcoming data intensive services, such as virtual reality.

Sultan AlDeghaither, Chief Technology Officer of Zain KSA
Our customers and their ever-increasing demands in the digital age will continue to dominate and drive our technology innovation. With this new launch, we can help to fulfill these demands by providing ultra-user experience through higher data throughput levels and optimum network performance.

Ali Aljitawi, Head of Zain KSA Customer Team at Nokia
With this project, Zain becomes the first Operator in Saudi Arabia to carry out the refarming of spectrum in the 900 MHz band from GSM to LTE, and using three component carrier aggregation to increase speeds on Zain’s 4G network.

Author

Ray is a news editor at The Fast Mode, bringing with him more than 10 years of experience in the wireless industry.

For tips and feedback, email Ray at ray.sharma(at)thefastmode.com, or reach him on LinkedIn @raysharma10, Facebook @1RaySharma

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