Ooredoo awards Nokia small cells rollout deal

Finland’s Nokia Networks has won a deal with Ooredoo Qatar to deploy its small cells in coverage ‘hotspots’ across the Middle Eastern country, following a trial of Nokia’s 4G LTE and 3G small cell solutions in high-traffic indoor and outdoor locations in the Qatari capital Doha, including the historic Souq Waqif area. Nokia ‘Flexi Zone’ small cells are installed in strategic locations such as restaurant rooftops to ensure additional capacity, coverage and better network availability, as well as reduce latency. The Flexi Zone solution is intended to complement Ooredoo’s 4G macro network, supporting enhanced voice and data services in the most crowded and demand-heavy indoor and outdoor areas. Alongside the small cell equipment, the agreement includes the Nokia ‘NetAct’ system for consolidated network management across small cells and the macro network layer. Previously, Ooredoo Qatar selected Nokia Networks as sole supplier to build its LTE radio and core network in 2013, and the technology partners’ joint press release says they ‘have a shared vision of bringing the latest mobile broadband innovations to residents of Qatar through 5G and beyond.’