INDUSTRY WATCH and services . In another development , Nokia has announced that it has been selected by African mobile operator , Airtel Kenya in a three-year deal to modernise Nairobi with high speed 4G and 5G-ready hardware from its comprehensive AirScale portfolio .
Deployment , which began in June , will cover hundreds of sites and include upgrading existing 2G ,
TOGOCOM ALSO DEPLOYED THE NOKIA AIRFRAME DATA CENTRE SOLUTION TO SUPPORT CLOUD-BASED APPLICATIONS NECESSARY FOR FUTURE TELCO NETWORKING .
3G and 4G radio access network ( RAN ) coverage in urban , semi urban , highways , tourist spots and central business districts in Nairobi and the rest of Kenya . Nokia ’ s future-proofed network infrastructure will also offer Airtel Kenya the option to smoothly transition to 5G when necessary .
The upgraded network will deliver enhanced connectivity to customers of Airtel Kenya and access to new , high-speed data services .
Nokia is supplying Airtel Kenya with its AirScale Single RAN ( S-RAN ) portfolio for both indoor and outdoor coverage , including base stations and radio access products . These solutions will enable Airtel Kenya to deliver improved connectivity and capacity benefits including enhanced voice and data services to its subscribers while reducing complexity and driving cost efficiencies .
The improved network will provide higher data speeds using additional 4G spectrum bands and provide access to secure , high-speed and reliable data services .
As part of the deal , Nokia will also deploy its cloudagnostic NetAct software solution to securely manage Airtel Kenya ’ s networks . Nokia will also provide digital deployment , network planning and technical support services helping Airtel to launch its services faster to the market and ensure customer requirements for quality are met .
P . D . Sarma , CEO , Airtel Kenya , said : “ We are in the midst of rolling out our network to enhance coverage along with modernisation of our data network that will help us to deliver improved , high-speed data services to our customers . This will allow our customers seamless coverage enhancing their browsing experience further .
“ We are excited to partner with Nokia on this project . Its technology portfolio improves our network quality considerably and also allows us to move to 5G services in the future .”
Rajiv Aggarwal , Head , Central , East and West Africa ( CEWA ) Market Unit at Nokia , said : “ This is an exciting deal in an exciting market . We are proud to supply Airtel Kenya with our comprehensive AirScale portfolio and support the operator with its efforts to deliver the best possible connectivity experiences to end-users in Kenya .
In a maturing market , we look forward to helping Airtel execute its strategy in the short-term as well as set it on the path to 5G services .” p
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