Nokia said it assisted Azercell Telecom, a mobile operator in Azerbaijan, for the expansion of 4G network coverage with the installation of its AirScale 4G base stations at more than 1,400 sites.
Nokia said AirScale Radio Access solutions will provide Azercell with high-speed mobile connectivity. Nokia is the sole supplier in this deal and will replace the former 4G provider and develop the network further.

The deal will be the first large-scale regional deployment of 4G services outside of the capital city of Baku. Azercell will utilize Nokia’s Single RAN solution to cut complexity, increase cost efficiency, and enable upgrade to future technologies via a software update.

Azercell will utilize Nokia Software’s NetAct Cloud network management system that meets customer demands for software-only delivery.

Nokia said Azercell’s engineers can deploy NetAct Cloud network management system on the same data center platforms as other IT and telco systems for increased agility and lower operational costs.

Nokia claims that NetAct manages both radio and core networks and provides applications for fault management, configuration management, network and administration management, performance management, and security management. The deal includes Nokia’s services for network design, deployment, and optimization. Installation began at the end of 2018 and was completed in July 2020.

Azercell is the largest operator in Azerbaijan with more than 5 million customers. Azercell is also planning to deploy low-power, wide-area NB-IoT services.

“Azercell has expanded 4G network across the country with Nokia to provide its population with equal technological opportunities and the latest innovations through its high-speed Internet,” Marat Hamidov, director of Network Technology Department at Azercell, said in a statement.

“A high-performing 4G network is absolutely fundamental, and with our AirScale solution, we also offer a simple upgrade to the next technological era when Azercell is ready,” said Mikko Lavanti, market unit head, Central East and Central Asia at Nokia, said.