Ooredoo Group tapped Nokia to expand its networks in the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia in a five-year deal covering multiple technologies.

Nokia stated it will deploy its AirScale radio equipment on Ooredoo sites across North Africa and Southeast Asia: the vendor’s kit is compatible with 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G.

In addition, Nokia will provide core network software including packet, voice, registers, policy controller, signalling and cloud platform.

The agreement also calls for Nokia to provide optical networking equipment and microwave transport for Ooredoo.

Ooredoo MD Aziz Aluthman Fakhroo (pictured, left), described the deal as a “testimony to our growing partnership with Nokia”, adding the operator plans to deploy “world-class 4G and 5G services across North Africa and Southeast Asia”.

Pekka Lundmark, Nokia president and CEO (pictured, right), predicted Ooredoo’s move to 5G will “drive radical transformation across industries, communities and public services”.

Nokia stated its network slicing technology will enable Ooredoo to launch services spanning health, smart cities, banking, transportation and public safety.