Nokia private LTE chosen by Bahrain's Electricity and Water Authority to digitalize distribution network

• EWA will be able to enhance their grid efficiency and security by using automation and provide better services to their consumers
• The network will also pave the way for easier adoption of Internet of Things (IoT) use cases in the future

Nokia today announced that it has been selected to build a secure, private LTE network (pLTE) for Bahrain’s Electricity and Water Authority (EWA) to modernize its distribution network for improved efficiency and performance. In the first phase of deployment, Nokia will cover Al Muharraq area in Bahrain. After the successful completion of the first phase, the network will connect thousands of secondary substations and hundreds of primary substations spread across the entire country.

Nokia’s private LTE network will help EWA automate their smart grid in the city and will pave the way for easier adoption of Internet of Things (IoT) use cases in the future. EWA customers will experience superior and more reliable services.

In the first phase, Nokia's solution will connect 500 secondary substations and six primary substations to the central location. Its solution including 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.

Bahrain’s Electricity and Water Authority said: “We are committed to using the latest, secure technologies to ensure greater operational efficiency, which translates to improved customer service. Nokia is a global technology leader, and we are delighted to partner with them on this crucial project to modernize and digitalize our distribution network. It also paves the way for smoother adoption of IoT products to provide smart services in the future.”

Kamal Ballout, Head of Nokia Enterprise, Middle East, Africa, China and India at Nokia, said: “Private LTE is enabling utility organizations around the world to simplify networks management and use automation to bring down costs. We are committed to modernizing and upgrading EWA’s distribution systems for better performance and reliability. Our end-to-end portfolio allows us to provide reliable and ultra-high-speed broadband wireless networking to our utility customers.”

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
• Nokia installation and commissioning services will provide the training services

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