Nokia, Teletalk bring first 5G network

Nokia on Thursday announced that it was selected by Teletalk Bangladesh Ltd to deploy a 5G network in the country for the first time.

The deal supports the government’s digital agenda to drive automation, digitalisation, and Industry 4.0 in Bangladesh underpinned by 5G.

The new network will drive faster speeds, lower latency, and reliability and support the intelligent transformation of industries including education and healthcare, said a statement.

In the initial phase of deployment, Nokia will provide equipment from its latest ReefShark System on Chip-powered AirScale equipment portfolio including its 5G AirScale Digital Baseband Unit with a plugin capability to add capacity where it is needed. It will also supply its high-performance 64TRX AirScale massive MIMO Adaptive Antennas to cover all deployment scenarios including dense-urban environments and wide-area coverage.

Teletalk is launching its 5G network to coincide with Bangladesh’s golden jubilee of independence celebrations. The mobile operator is upgrading its network including support for rural areas as well as the introduction of 5G networks to the main city areas.

Nokia and Teletalk have been partners since 2004 with the joint deployment of 2G, 3G, and 4G networks. Nokia also supplies transport and core solutions and signed a network expansion and modernization deal.

Shahab Uddin, Managing Director of Teletalk Bangladesh Ltd, said, “This initiative is important for the future of Bangladesh and in building a digital society underpinned by 5G networks. Our ongoing collaboration and partnership with Nokia are key to us delivering a state-of-the-art network and delivering superior communications services to our customers.”

Mark Atkinson, Senior Vice President, Radio Access Networks PLM at Nokia, said, “We are delighted to continue our longstanding partnership with Teletalk and take it into the 5G era. Teletalk and the Bangladeshi government have broad ambitions to drive societal change through a foundation of 5G networks.

The network expansion and modernisation initiative will help Teletalk attract new subscribers in the rural region and reduce churn in the urban areas. Our global experience will enable Teletalk to offer enhanced customer experience to its subscriber.”