August 12, 2014
Wellington, New Zealand – Vodafone New Zealand, the largest operator in the country and the first to launch LTE services in New Zealand, has selected Nokia Networks to enable the launch of its commercial 700 MHz LTE network, one of the first Asia Pacific Telecommunity (APT) 700 MHz networks in the world. With speeds up to 10 times faster than standard 3G services, Vodafone customers in Papakura will soon enjoy advanced mobile broadband services with superior network quality, speed and coverage.
Together with mobile broadband specialist Nokia Networks, Vodafone New Zealand will deploy LTE coverage on the APT 700 MHz digital dividend spectrum band* harmonized across several countries in the Asia Pacific region. This band provides an excellent basis for high-quality indoor and extended rural area coverage for 4G-enabled devices.
Vodafone New Zealand Director of Technology, Sandra Pickering says kicking off the commercial 4G rollout to rural New Zealand is a major milestone.
“There’s no question that 4G – particularly in rural areas – will deliver economic benefit and have strong impacts for productivity.
“Our focus this year is about expanding our 4G network to rural New Zealand with 700MHz, and Nokia Networks will play an important part in implementing this initiative. We’ll be activating 4G wherever possible on new Rural Broadband Initiative sites this year.”
“After supporting Vodafone’s launch of the country’s first 4G network, we have further strengthened our collaboration by becoming a part of this important project,” said Stephen McFeeley, head of Australia and New Zealand at Nokia Networks. “We wholeheartedly support Vodafone New Zealand as it places its customers at the heart of everything it does. And, we remain committed to help the operator in delivering the best-in-class service experience to its subscribers.”
To support the launch, Vodafone will augment Nokia Networks’ compact and scalable Single RAN-Advanced Flexi Multiradio 10 Base Stations** with the latest 6-pipe RF module for APT 700 MHz to deliver Multiple Input and Multiple Output (MIMO) on up to 3 sectors using a single unit. This compact solution shares processing hardware with the existing network equipment to deliver an efficient, cost-effective platform that is ready to support LTE-A carrier aggregation on the 700 MHz band.
Additionally, network planning and optimization services will ensure the best performance of the new spectrum and seamless interworking of mobile broadband services across the various radio technologies (2G/3G/LTE) and frequency bands in Vodafone New Zealand’s network. The two companies recently joined forces to introduce small cells in the country and continue to work together to transform New Zealand’s telecommunications landscape.
For more information on Nokia Networks’ mobile broadband capabilities, including a video overview, follow this link. To share your thoughts on the topic, join the discussion with @NSNtweets on Twitter using #mobilebroadband and #LTE. For expert insights, visit our blog.
About Nokia
Nokia invests in technologies important in a world where billions of devices are connected. We are focused on three businesses: network infrastructure software, hardware and services, which we offer through Nokia Networks; location intelligence, which we provide through HERE; and advanced technology development and licensing, which we pursue through Nokia Technologies. Each of these businesses is a leader in its respective field.
Nokia Networks is the world’s specialist in mobile broadband. From the first ever call on GSM, to the first call on LTE, we operate at the forefront of each generation of mobile technology. Our global experts invent the new capabilities our customers need in their networks. We provide the world’s most efficient mobile networks, the intelligence to maximize the value of those networks, and the services to make it all work seamlessly. www.nsn.com // http://company.nokia.com
Media Enquiries
Nokia Networks
Cordia So
External Communications Asia Pacific
Phone: +852 9747 5873
E-mail: cordia.so@nsn.com
Media Relations
Phone: +358 7140 02869
E-mail: mediarelations@nsn.com
Vodafone New Zealand Media Relations
Phone: +64 218 363 342
E-mail: Vodafone.media@vodafone.com
Notes:
* The Asia Pacific Telecommunity (APT) 700 MHz spectrum enables smooth LTE rollouts using the ‘Digital Dividend’ in the Asia Pacific region, Latin America and other parts of the world. ‘Digital Dividend’ comes from clearing that frequency band from other uses such as analog TV.
** The Flexi Multiradio 10 Base Station from Nokia Networks has recently been ranked a leader in capacity and deployment flexibility in analyst company Current Analysis’ latest ‘LTE eNodeB Assessment’ of April 4, 2014. According to the report, Flexi Multiradio 10 Base Station outperforms the competition in capacity, deployment flexibility, spectrum coverage and power output. “LTE-Advanced market momentum and product differentiation lend credibility,” said Current Analysis in its report summary, noting that Nokia Networks provided a “broader range of supported spectrum bands than other vendors.” The same analyst report also highlighted the company’s leadership, with its Liquid Applications being a clear differentiator with its novel approach to optimizing mobile content and applications.
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