Zain, an operator with a commercial footprint in eight Middle Eastern and African countries, has selected Ericsson to build its 5G network in Bahrain.
Under the contract, Zain Bahrain’s network will be modernized from LTE to 5G. Ericsson is providing 3GPP standards-based 5G New Radio (NR) hardware and software from the Ericsson Radio System portfolio, including Massive MIMO solutions. Ericsson is also providing Ericsson Cloud Packet Core and Voice over LTE solutions.
The solutions will upgrade Zain’s existing mobile networks and introduce the latest 5G technologies across the country. The first commercial 5G services are expected to go live before the end of 2019.
Ericsson says that its 5G portfolio will enable Zain Bahrain to expand coverage while simultaneously strengthening its current network. Ericsson’s high-speed and low-latency 5G technology will help Zain to meet growing data traffic demands and, says the company, deliver high-quality mobile broadband and fixed wireless experiences.
Ericsson adds that the 5G-ready radio access and core network infrastructure rollout strengthens the collaboration between Ericsson and Zain Bahrain. In addition to improving operational efficiency, it also enhances network capabilities for IoT applications and other potential future services.
Ericsson now has more than 70 commercial 5G agreements or contracts with unique communication service providers, of which 22 are live networks.
