3 Ireland selects Nokia for 2G, 3G network upgrade

Hutchison H3G Ireland (3 Ireland), which recently completed a EUR850 million (USD1.13 billion) deal to buy out fellow operator O2 Ireland, has selected Nokia Networks to upgrade its older 2G and 3G networks. The carrier says the move forms part of a EUR300 million network expansion, which will also include the deployment of its nationwide 4G network. The Finnish vendor will supply new base transceiver stations (BTS) for the older networks, as well as a cloud-based system for managing the platform. Work on the upgrade will begin in September, 3 Ireland said, and will be completed by 2017.