Nokia and stc pioneer the first commercial 5G NSA Cloud RAN deployment in the MEA region

Nokia, in collaboration with stc, has achieved a regional first with the successful commercial deployment of 5G Non-Standalone (NSA) Cloud RAN in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. This marks a significant milestone in stc’s journey to integrate Cloud RAN in its commercial network, paving the way for future network technologies such as 6G. By leveraging Nokia’s Cloud RAN capabilities, stc is targeting to unlock the benefits of RAN cloudification, including network automation, programmability, architecture agility and flexibility as well as enabling the introduction of new services and use cases. 

Nokia’s market-leading Cloud RAN solution powers stc’s deployment in Makkah, built on an advanced edge cloud topology. Leveraging Nokia’s anyRAN partner ecosystem, the solution integrates Dell PowerEdge XR8000 servers, Red Hat OpenShift, and Nokia 7250 IXR Switches to deliver superior scalability, flexibility and operational efficiency. The anyRAN approach ensures seamless interoperability and consistency between Cloud RAN and purpose-built RAN, supporting stc’s strategy for a hybrid, future-proof network architecture.

In the commercial site cluster, Massive MIMO radios on the n78 band were connected to Nokia’s virtual Distributed Units (vDU) and Nokia’s virtual Centralized Units (vCU) that were installed in distributed and centralized deployments at edge and far-edge data centers, minimizing latency by moving content processing closer to end users. Performance tests demonstrated consistency with Nokia’s best-in-class purpose-built RAN, validating the maturity and reliability of Cloud RAN for commercial use. 

“This deployment underscores stc's strategic vision to lead the evolution of Cloud RAN technologies, which serve as a foundation for driving digital transformation across the region. By prioritizing flexibility and scalability, stc is accelerating the shift towards cloud-native networks and laying the groundwork for the transition to AI-driven RAN, enabling smarter, more adaptive, and efficient networks for the future,” said Haitham AlFaraj, Group Chief Technology Officer at stc.

“This milestone enhances stc's role in driving innovation and reinforces Saudi Arabia's position as a key technological hub in the Middle East. By supporting future-proof, cloud-based, and open network topologies, Nokia’s anyRAN approach enables operators and enterprises to unlock the full potential of advanced network solutions and accelerate their digital transformation journeys,” said Mikko Lavanti, Senior Vice President for MEA Mobile Networks at Nokia.

“stc’s network cloud transformation, supported by our collaboration with Nokia and Red Hat, provides the foundation for the Middle East and Africa’s first 5G NSA Cloud RAN deployment and will help accelerate new opportunities for businesses across the region,” said Tibor Fabry-Asztalos, Senior Vice President and Product Engineering for Telecom Systems Business at Dell Technologies.