Nokia and Zain Saudi Arabia are deploying Nokia's FastMile technology to provide better broadband speeds to Zain's customers. The deployment, the first for Nokia FastMile in the Middle East and Africa region, follows a successful trial of the technology which recorded speeds of 20 Mbps and provided seamless 4G macro network coverage to reach users located in a challenging environment. The trial was conducted on an FDD-LTE network with Flexi Multiradio 10 Base Station. 

Nokia FastMile lets service providers use 4G LTE radio access network connectivity in difficult to reach areas. It comprises of four components: an outdoor modem, indoor router, LTE radio access, and controller. The modem connects to the nearest LTE base station to provide high-speed broadband connectivity.

Zain is deploying the technology in the western and southern region of the country and also in the cities of Jeddah and Makkah. Interestingly, the FastMile solution will not only be deployed in the typical rural environments but more in suburban areas, where no fiber or copper network is available, using the 1800 MHz band.

According to Nokia, it's FastMile solution provides up to 12 times typical coverage area and three times the speed compared to standard mobile broadband networks.