Nokia and STC have signed an agreement to expand high-speed mobile broadband capacity and coverage in Saudi Arabia using Nokia's 4.5G technology.
The enhanced network will meet the ever-increasing demands of subscribers across the country, including the millions of visitors who travel to the cities of Mecca and Medina each year, particularly during the Hajj and Ramadan seasons, said Nokia.
Nokia's 4.5G technology leverages techniques such as carrier aggregation to optimize network resources and boost speeds to meet growing data demands. Data traffic has increased in Saudi Arabia following the expansion of 4G, with the network in Mecca and Medina in particular experiencing spikes in demand.
Nokia has already completed the first phase of the deployment in Mecca and Medina, where the company was asked to dramatically increase capacity. Using 4.5G technology, including Saudi Arabia's first indoor small cells deployment, STC managed the huge traffic demands during this year's Hajj pilgrimage, which during peak times recorded an increase in 4G traffic of 600 percent compared to 2015.
Nokia will continue to deploy its 4.5G macro and small cell radio access network and microwave packet radio technology to provide ubiquitous coverage and faster access to the Internet across the country. This will allow STC to launch new services and expand the delivery of voice-over-LTE (VoLTE) to more subscribers.
