Bahrain appoints Nokia to digitalise distribution network

Bahrain’s Electricity & Water Authority (EWA) has awarded a contract to Nokia to provide a private LTE network to digitalise the country’s distribution network

 

 

Bahrain’s Electricity & Water Authority (EWA) has awarded a contract to Nokia to provide a private LTE network to digitalise the country’s distribution network.

For the first phase, Nokia will install the private LTE network for the Al-Muharraq area in Bahrain. The first phase will involve the connection of 500 secondary substations and six primary substations to the central location. After completion of the first phase, the network will connect thousands of secondary substations and hundreds of primary substations across Bahrain.

The private LTE network will help EWA automate its smart grid in the city and will pave the way for easier adoption of Internet of Things (IoT) use in the future.

The equipment to be installed under the contract will include: Nokia IP/MPLS wireless router 7705 SAR-Hmc, Nokia Compact Mobility Unit (CMU), Nokia Network Services Platform (NSP) and Nokia LTE radio equipment will be used to build advanced private LTE networks. The solution will be based on 3GPP standardization on 410 MHz Band B87 which is specifically for industrial use for private LTE connectivity.

Overview of the solution to be used for the deployment:

• Nokia IP/MPLS wireless router 7705 SAR-Hmc enables application-centric, reliable and efficient smart grid communications
• Nokia Compact Mobility Unit (CMU) performs the mobile packet core functions that are required for mobile broadband, IoT and Machine-type Communication (MTC)
• Nokia Network Services Platform (NSP) will enable automation of IP and optical networks to simplify network operations
• Nokia LTE radio equipment will help in effective capacity management while offering diverse deployment options