Uzbekistani CDMA provider Rubicon Wireless Communications, which operates as Perfectum, has announced plans to deploy a 5G network in partnership with Nokia.
The operator has signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with Nokia that will see the partners deploy a 5G Standalone (SA) network “throughout the country in a short time”, with the goal of achieving the first 5G SA launch in Central Asia. TeleGeography notes that Perfectum has provided CDMA mobile services since 2001.
The partnership with Nokia is not the only recent agreement that Perfectum has formed; at the recent GITEX event in the UAE, the operator partnered with Etisalat (e&) in order to boost the development of both its technical and commercial operations.
Perfectum has been empowered to implement this business transformation strategy after receiving a 1×100MHz TDD spectrum holding in the n77 (3.7GHz) band, which allows it to offer nationwide coverage. The operator already holds 2×15MHz in the n5 (850MHz FDD) band via its CDMA operation.
Given the spectrum that it has available, Perfectum identified the 5G SA model as best-suited to meeting both consumer and enterprise demand. The operator believes its 5G SA deployment will boost development across various sectors in Uzbekistan, including smart cities, IoT, telemedicine, autonomous vehicles and VR/AR.
