Nokia to deploy small cells in 31 provinces of China

Nokia will deploy Nokia Flexi Zone small cells and an AirScale low power radio in 31 provinces in China for China Unicom.

This will give China Unicom’s subsidiaries new flexibility as they densify busy city 3G and 4G LTE networks and further enhance performance in suburban and rural locations.

Small cells can also be used to extend coverage and capacity inside offices and homes, as well as in high-traffic locations such as train stations and shopping malls.

Nokia will leverage its extensive global services expertise to optimize small cell deployments for China Unicom, including network planning and optimization, equipment commissioning and care in warrantee services.

Gao Bo, head of Customer Business Team for China Unicom at Nokia Shanghai Bell said, “This agreement extends the long-term cooperation between China Unicom and Nokia. We have developed a small cell portfolio that will allow operators to cost-efficiently densify and scale their networks, boosting 3G and 4G performance to stay ahead of demand. By combining this small cell technology with our extensive global services expertise, we can optimize any deployment for China Unicom.”

Four products will be made available for deployment in 31 provinces via the China Unicom procurement. These includes: Nokia Flexi Zone Mini-Macro; Nokia AirScale Micro RRH; Nokia Flexi Zone Micro; and Nkia Flexi Zone Pico.

The 31 provinces represent 20 percent of China Unicom’s network and include Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Liaoning, Jiangsu, Anhui, Hunan, Sichuan, Shanghai, Guangxi, Xinjiang, Guizhou, Fujian, Gansu, Shaanxi and Jiangxi.