A leading MNO in the Gulf region reduced 5G rollout costs by 68% while maintaining Nokia OEM certification standards through NetZero.tel's managed marketplace.
The Challenge
With 5G spectrum licenses secured across three markets, this Tier-1 operator faced aggressive deployment timelines and a procurement budget that fell 40% short of new-equipment costs. Traditional procurement channels offered limited flexibility, and lead times from OEMs stretched beyond 16 weeks for critical RAN components.
The NetZero.tel Solution
Through our managed marketplace, the operator sourced certified pre-owned Nokia AirScale base stations and Massive MIMO antenna units from verified sellers across Europe and Asia. Every unit came with full OEM certification, 12-month warranty, and firmware compatibility verification performed by our technical team.
The Outcome
Within 9 months, the operator deployed 240+ 5G sites across urban and suburban corridors, meeting regulatory coverage obligations ahead of schedule. The procurement savings were reinvested into spectrum acquisition for an additional market. By choosing certified pre-owned equipment through NetZero.tel, the operator also avoided 142 tons of CO₂ that would have been generated from manufacturing new units.
"NetZero.tel gave us access to certified Nokia equipment at a price point that made our 5G business case viable. The technical verification process gave our engineering team full confidence in every unit deployed."
— VP of Network Procurement, Tier-1 Gulf MNO