Nawras has teamed up with Huawei to turbocharge its network and rev up the customer experience

Unlocking new vistas of communication

Nawras has signed an agreement with Huawei to turbocharge the Nawras Radio Access Network (RAN) by upgrading all sites to enhanced 3G+ and increasing coverage, in-building penetration, capacity and speed of the entire network. At the same time Nawras will be launching the highly anticipated 4G LTE technology, introducing one of the world’s most advanced wireless communication technologies to provide high-speed mobile data with an exciting new level of customer experience.

The signing ceremony took place at Muscat Grand Mall and was attended by Nawras executive committee members, Huawei management, officials from the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), and Nawras family members. An energetic and colourful display bridged the two rich and vibrant cultures as a band of Omani drummers and Chinese lion dancers performed in tribute to the heritage and dynamism of the two companies. Live demonstrations of the new technology showed the incredible speed and capabilities that customers will soon be enjoying for superfast file downloading, seamless streaming of films and videos and a myriad of multimedia opportunities.
 

“We are delighted to be joining forces with Huawei who have a wealth of experience and undisputed track record after building many of the world’s most advanced LTE networks,” said Ross Cormack, CEO of Nawras. “4G LTE will essentially revolutionise the way we communicate with superfast, high-quality broadband internet service, unlocking a world of communication opportunities beyond imagination. With this cutting edge technology, we will introduce exciting services to give a seamless, smooth multimedia experience, whether it’s watching HD television or reading an interactive online news story with animation, audio and video feeds. We will be making communication even more exciting and even more rewarding.”

He added, “We would like to thank the TRA for their tremendous support and for making it possible for us to launch LTE FDD in the 1800 spectrum, which is one of the industry’s de facto standards, providing access to a very high number of devices for customers. Together with this decision and the TRA’s release of two more 3G+ frequencies, we will at least triple our mobile broadband capacity to serve our broadband hungry customers. As we turbocharge our network by increasing and enhancing 3G+ sites and introducing 4G LTE, we will continue to update customers at every step.”

Fast Services
Around 30 per cent of sites will be turbocharged before the end of December 2012 and customers will immediately notice the difference as they start to receive fast 3G+ and 4G services. The 4G LTE network will cover all major areas of Muscat governorate by the end of 2012. All major cities will enjoy LTE coverage by June 2013.

“Huawei and Nawras share a mutual commitment to developing customer-centric telecom networks in Oman, and we are proud to see this latest agreement build on a long and fruitful history of collaboration,” noted Xiao Ning, president of Qtel key account, Huawei. “Within the region, 4G technologies such as LTE are on the verge of becoming an essential part of people’s everyday lives.” In addition to the launch of 4G LTE, 3G+ population coverage will rise dramatically from 53 per cent to 97 per cent over the next three years including greater coverage in remote areas across the Sultanate.

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