Nokia lands railway comms, optical networking wins across Asia

In regional Asian coups for the comms tech provider, Nokia has announced a partnership with ST Engineering and First One Systems to deploy Bangkok Expressway and Metro (BEM) railway communications network for enhanced safety and services .

Meanwhile, operator Gulf Bridge International (GBI) has selected Nokia’s optical networking solution to build a new high-capacity terrestrial network, also designed for subsea backhauling, enhancing connectivity between Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Explaining the project taking place in Thailand’s capital, Nokia said that railway systems worldwide are undergoing digital transformation to enhance operational efficiency, reliability and safety. The new internet protocol/multi-protocol label switching (IP/MPLS)-based mission-critical backbone transmission network (BTN) will be deployed on BEM’s 35.9 km mass rapid transit (MRT) Orange Line, which is due to be completed by 2030. The line will connect the east and west sides of Bangkok, featuring both underground and elevated transit systems.

When deployed, the IP/MPLS solution is intended to enable BEM to have a high-capacity, low-latency, reliable and secure transmission backbone to support both vital and non-vital railway applications, including CCTV surveillance, public announcements, passenger information displays, radio communication, and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA).

As part of the project, Nokia will develop two BTNs, 10G and 40G, each to support network speeds for voice, data and video transmission between stations and operations control centre (OCC). Nokia’s solution includes the 7250 Interconnect Router, Nokia Service Platform Nokia, 7210 Service Access System and professional services. The solution is designed to help BEM to simplify operations and maintenance while providing real-time visibility into network performance.

“We are honoured to be part of this landmark project alongside Nokia and ST Engineering, contributing our local expertise and strong integration capabilities to support BEM’s vision for safer and smarter rail transport in Bangkok,” said First One Systems chief executive officer Terdsak Kijjatikankun. “Our deep understanding of the local landscape, combined with Nokia’s proven technology and ST Engineering’s system integration excellence, ensures that this mission-critical communication system will meet the highest international standards.”

Meanwhile, in the Middle East, Qatar-based GBI aims to establish an entirely new terrestrial route through Iraq, providing an alternative pathway that bypasses traditional subsea corridors, offering greater diversity and resilience for regional and international data traffic.

Once live, the network is seen as being able to deliver more than 50 Tbps of capacity to its customers, supporting the region’s growing digital economy and increasing demand for reliable, scalable bandwidth. Using the 1830 GX optical networking platform, GBI said its network will enable cloud and content providers, telecom operators and enterprises to deliver services with significantly lower latency, higher capacity and improved network availability.

“The award of Nokia for this new network represents a major step forward in delivering enhanced connectivity to our customers and partners,” said Gulf Bridge International CEO Ahmad Mohamed AL-Kuwari. “By collaborating with Nokia and leveraging the latest 1830 GX platform, we are creating a robust, high-capacity network that strengthens regional resilience and supports digital transformation across key markets. This project reinforces GBI’s commitment to enabling reliable, high-quality infrastructure that fuels economic growth and innovation.”