Singapore mobile operator sees LTE network going live by year-end; deal also will see vendor modernise its GSM network.
StarHub on Tuesday announced that equipment for its LTE network rollout, due to begin imminently, will be provided by Nokia Siemens Networks.
The Singapore mobile operator reiterated plans, shared by CEO Neil Montefiore in February, to launch LTE services in its 1800-MHz spectrum by the end of the year. The first phase of the LTE network is expected to go live by end-2012 in key business areas of Singapore, the telco said.
Under the terms of the deal, for which financial terms were not disclosed, Nokia Siemens Networks will also modernise StarHub's GSM network, with the aim of reducing the power consumption of its network equipment by up to 50%.
"We have... been looking to modernise our GSM network for some time and with the Nokia Siemens Networks Single RAN platform we'll be able to do that efficiently while building the LTE network," said Montefiore, in a statement.
Nokia Siemens' Flexi Multiradio Base Station will enable StarHub to run both LTE and GSM in the 1800-MHz band. In addition, the vendor will also provide customer experience management software, a network management and monitoring system for both GSM and LTE, and support services.