Nokia Siemens Networks Wins £400M Contract in the UK

Today, leading telecommunications infrastructure solutions provider Nokia Siemens Networks announced that Mobile Broadband Network (MBNL), the UK based joint venture company between T-Mobile and 3G UK, had selected it for network capacity enhancements. T-Mobile and 3 UK are set to build the largest shared network in Europe, and NSN was selected for the delivery of 3G radio network infrastructure, mobile network planning, implementation, optimization and maintenance.

Graham Payne, managing director of MBNL said “Smartphone and mobile laptop data traffic growth in the UK has been unprecedented, and every sign is it will continue growing fast. With Nokia Siemens Networks, we are confident of providing the UK’s most smartphone friendly, high-speed 3G network to more people in the UK than any other operator, delivering exceptional services to both T-Mobile UK and 3 UK subscribers.”

Mobile Broadband Network Ltd. (MBNL) aims at creating the fastest shared 3G network in the UK, faster than any competitor. T-Mobile UK and 3 UK have already consolidated over 7,000 sites out of 12,500 included in the process. At the same time, the program was intended to result in the switch off of more than 3,000 redundant sites, the carriers announced. According to Nokia Siemens Networks, the MBNL network should carry the highest volume of data traffic registered on any other airwaves deployed by the company, mainly due to a fast growth in mobile data and Internet usage both T-Mobile UK and 3 UK experience.

In order to make sure that the MBNL network expansion would prove beneficial for both carriers, Nokia Siemens Networks has started the implementation of its Multi-operator Radio Access Network (MORAN) platform. The solution is capable of delivering great flexibility in the network merging process, while also enabling the re-use of existing infrastructure. Moreover, the use of the MORAN platform results in a reduction in the number of sites, the infrastructure provider states.

“As operators across the world strive to realize the opportunities offered by mobile broadband, they also face major challenges related to costs and efficiency. We have a strong existing relationship with T-Mobile and 3 UK, and are committed to helping them deliver their growth objectives. We are helping them simplify their network, meet the ever increasing consumer demand for capacity, and realize cost savings,” Steve Glanville, head of the T-Mobile UK and MBNL customer team at Nokia Siemens Networks, commented.