Nokia signs deal with Angola's Africell to deploy 5G-ready network

Nokia said Monday it has partnered with Angolan mobile operator, Africell, to deploy a brand-new 5G-ready network in the capital city of Luanda, expanding its footprint in the African continent.

"We are excited to provide our multi-standard Single RAN radio technology, along with cloud-native core and IP technologies to achieve Africell's goals," said Rajiv Aggarwal, Head of CEWA Market Unit at Nokia.

As part of the deal, Nokia will deploy its AirScale Single Radio Access Network (S-RAN) across up to 700 sites to support concurrently 2G, 3G and 4G services, and be 5G-ready via a software update. The company will also deploy:

• Nokia AirFrame data center solution to run demanding virtualized and cloud-native software workloads with ease
• Microwave transmission network Wavence to support advanced packet networking
• NetAct network management system to enable consolidated network view for improved network monitoring and management
• Nokia's IP routers
• Nokia cloud-native Cloud Packet Core, 3G Core, Voice Core and Registers to help Africell achieve a high degree of flexibility for responding to changing customer demands
• Nokia Policy Controller that provides scale and simplicity even for the most complex use cases

In addition, Nokia will leverage its services expertise for network planning, optimization, installation and care to launch the services faster and ensure the quality of services.

Our vision is to offer superior voice and data services in an expanding footprint across the continent. To achieve this, we need reliable technology partners whose network technologies and support services give us the best platform from which to serve our own customers. Nokia is the right partner for us in Angola and we are excited to work with them to build world-class mobile networks.

Younes Chaaban, Chief Technical Officer at Africell

The network deployment will allow the Angolan operator to provide high-speed voice and data services in the capital city. Africell will be able to take advantage of the latest cloud technologies to achieve cost efficiency gains from shared infrastructure, as well as improved control and flexibility which enable differentiated services to its customers.