South Africa's MTN taps Nokia to drive voice core evolution, network modernization

South African telecom company MTN has selected its long-standing partner Nokia to drive its voice core evolution and network modernization. 

MTN is utilizing Nokia's 5G cloud infrastructure and cloud-native IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) to modernize and expand its Voice over Broadband, Voice over WiFi and Voice over LTE (VoLTE), laying the foundation for Voice over 5G, a fundamental requirement for the introduction of 5G for mobile phones, the Finnish vendor said in a press release on Monday.

"With Nokia cloud-native IMS, MTN has a strong path to 5G. This deployment allows us to provide customers with the highest quality and fastest connectivity, including superior voice connectivity through VoLTE," said Giovanni Chiarelli, Chief Technology and Information Officer at MTN South Africa.

Nokia's  5G cloud-native infrastructure and IP Multimedia Subsystem deliver a high-quality voice and rich multimedia service for consumers as well as businesses.

Commenting on the partnership, Raghav Sahgal, President of Cloud and Network Services, Nokia, said, "We are proud to be delivering MTN South Africa its 5G infrastructure. By adopting a cloud-based network foundation through Nokia, MTN enhances the customer network experience, as well as ensures much-needed flexibility and lower network management costs."

Through this strategic partnership, the MTN South Africa is also able to expand the modernization program to other African countries where it provides services.