Nokia, Zain Saudi Arabia use Centralized RAN to boost upload speed at Al Jawhara Stadium

Nokia and Zain Saudi Arabia have improved network upload speeds at Jeddah's King Abdullah Sports stadium by up to 50%, thanks to the deployment of Nokia Centralized RAN technology.

The deployment will improve uplink connections and quality of experience for visitors to football matches and other events at the venue, which is also known popularly as the Al Jawhara Stadium, Jeddah's largest stadium.

The volume of events held at the stadium has led to Zain Saudi Arabia finding a solution to address spikes in uplink data traffic triggered by thousands of fans sharing photos and videos via social media.

Zain chose Nokia's Centralized RAN technology to improve uplink performance, deploying clusters of LTE base stations within the stadium to optimize bandwidth and remove uplink congestion in the 1800 MHz bands. A further benefit of the technology is that it makes smartphones more energy efficient, reducing battery drain as it requires less power for uploading content.

In addition, Nokia's Professional Services helped Zain to design, test and optimize the performance of the new Centralized RAN technology.

Sultan Abdulaziz AlDeghaither, Chief Technology Officer at Zain Saudi Arabia, said: "With the increased penetration of smart mobile devices, people are sharing videos and pictures over social media such as WhatsApp, Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram, especially during events at this stadium. The more people upload, the more the network becomes congested, so we have deployed Nokia's Centralized RAN technology to boost the uplink speed for fans while also improving their smartphone battery life."

Ali Al Jitawi, head of the Zain Saudi Arabia customer team at Nokia, said: "Our Centralized RAN technology helps operators like Zain Saudi Arabia address the network congestion caused by bandwidth-hungry applications and services at large venues and stadiums. In Jeddah, our planning and optimization services have ensured that the technology delivered as promised, maximizing the return on Zain's investment and working seamlessly with its existing network. With this, Zain can build denser LTE networks and improve customer loyalty by delivering higher capacity and more robust services even during high traffic events."