Approximately 18,000 homes as well as businesses throughout Oman will be able to use super-fast and reliable 4G and 5G fixed wireless (FWA) access as Nokia and Ooredoo have announced the deployment of Nokia FastMile 4G Compact Receiver and Nokia WiFi Beacon for 4G solution and Nokia FastMile 5G Gateway for 5G.
Work to deploy the Nokia FastMile 4G FWA solution throughout the country had started in February 2021. The scope of work will initially see 15,000 homes and businesses connected. In addition, 3,000 homes in city centers will soon get Nokia FastMile 5G FWA.
Noor Al Sulaiti, chief executive officer of Ooredoo Oman, said, “Fixed wireless access is a critical part of our strategy to provide high-speed internet across Oman. Nokia’s solution offers a great 4G and 5G experience, so that more of our customers can enjoy the internet with us. The service will take connectivity to the next level, supporting the demands of our residential and business customers for superfast and reliable connectivity.”
Khin Sandi Lynn, industry analyst at ABI, said, “We see significant traction for both 4G and 5G FWA technologies as operators increasingly use these solutions as a way to bring ultra-broadband access and services to customers. ABI Research forecast that worldwide FWA subscriber base is expected to double in 2025 reaching 165 million. Technologies like Nokia’s FastMile FWA solution provides operators with the flexibility to quickly connect subscribers without the hassle of connecting any wires."
Meanwhile, Rima Manna, head of the Middle East market unit, Nokia MEA, said,“We are excited to have partnered with Ooredoo Oman to enable world-class FWA connectivity for its customers, and looking forward to further strengthen our collaboration. Our receivers and gateways are field proven to provide connectivity and best-in-class speed in the toughest of radio conditions which will help Ooredoo serve a larger area. The high gain antennas guarantee the most efficient use of radio airtime of any customer premise equipment, saving radio costs”.
The Nokia FastMile solution allows operators to build profitably on their existing Radio Access Network (RAN) installed base and idle rural spectrum so they can offer fixed wireless broadband to urban, suburban and rural users. Nokia FastMile includes customer premise equipment with a built-in modem and antenna, a cloud-based controller for point of sales, monitoring and control, and smartphone applications for installation and support. Together they provide a powerful end-to-end solution delivering guaranteed sustained rates to fixed subscribers.
