T-Mobile Poland and Orange Poland Pick Nokia Siemens Networks for Radio Network Sharing for LTE

Long Term Evolution (LTE), a standard for wireless communication of high-speed data for mobile phones and data terminals, has been talk of the town, and T-Mobile Poland and Orange Poland have been preparing for LTE by selecting Nokia Siemens Networks as one of the vendors to deploy and upgrade their GSM and HSPA networks and enable radio network sharing.

At present, Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa operates the T-Mobile network, while PTK Centertel runs the Orange network, and these will be managed by a joint venture called NetWorkS.

And this venture is supported by Nokia Siemens Networks by offering Single RAN (radio access network) platform and related services to improve the network performance, reduce costs and make the shared network LTE-ready.

Speaking on this note, Milan Zika, director of the technology and networks division and Board Member, T-Mobile Poland said that they are focused on delivering high-quality services and introducing the latest technologies in Poland and the network upgrade and development will significantly improve the performance and quality of the shared infrastructure, which will be the largest in the country, to provide an optimum end-user experience.

“In Nokia Siemens Networks, we have a partner with a global experience of network sharing deployments and this will ensure a speedy roll-out for us,” said Zika.

As per the new agreement, Nokia Siemens Networks’ Single RAN platform, based on the compact, energy efficient Flexi Multiradio Base Stations, will be used and this platform will enable a percentage of the existing sites to be re-used, thereby lowering costs while protecting investments. In future, it will enable a smooth transition to LTE through a simple software upgrade.

“The network consolidation and upgrade is an important part of what we aim to deliver with the radio network sharing. It will result in higher network availability and improve the quality of services for Orange and T-Mobile subscribers in Poland. At the same time, it will enable better use of network resources and make new investments optimal,” said Maciej Witucki, chief executive officer of the Telekomunikacja Polska Group, which owns PTK Centertel.

In addition to the above services, the contract also includes a range of services, including construction works and the full set of care services comprising hardware services, proactive software services and 3,000 hours of training as part of competence development services.