Nokia announced that it has been selected by Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison  as the principal vendor to deploy and expand its 4G and 5G network across Indonesia in a three-year deal. The comprehensive deal, which will see Nokia provide solutions from its latest AirScale portfolio, will cover an area of 1.4 million square kilometers including Sumatra island, Kalimantan island, Central Java and Surabaya city. The project will support Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison’s ambitions to become the most preferred digital telco in the country by addressing market requirements, improving data throughput and customer experience and preparing the network for early 5G deployments. The rollout is expected to begin this month.

Nokia will provide equipment from its latest ReefShark-powered AirScale portfolio including base stations and 5G Single RAN for both premium indoor and outdoor coverage. Nokia’sconsolidation services will ensure a smooth integration by merging spectrum owned by IOH into a single network, ensuring minimum impact to end-users.

With Nokia’s technology, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison will be able to quickly and easily upgrade to 5G services remotely with a software update or with a plug-in card. Nokia’s energy-efficientAirScale solution will also allow IOH to keep cost to a minimum while improving the quality of its services.

Vikram Sinha, President Director and CEO of Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, said: “We are excited to collaborate with our long-standing partner Nokia on this crucial project to consolidateand expand our networks for optimal utilization of our resources while providing a world-class digital experience to our subscribers. Nokia’s 5G-ready and industry-leading solution will help us maximize the asset utilization even as we future-proof our investments and enhance network performance.”

Tommi Uitto, President of Mobile Networks at Nokia, said: “We are looking forward to supporting Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison in this crucial initiative to expand its coverage footprint and prepare the networks for more innovative 5G services in the near future. Nokia’s 5G-ready AirScale portfolio will help Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison to launch next-generation services while helping it to bring down its operational expense.”