Brunei accelerates its digital economy with Unified National Networks deploying a Juniper transport network

Brunei Darussalam, on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia, is one of the wealthiest countries in the world. Its government is hard at work to fuel economic growth and enrich the quality of life for its 450,000 residents through digital transformation. To that end, it created Unified National Networks (UNN) to accelerate the nation’s progress to a more connected future.

UNN offers fixed and mobile connectivity, local and international connectivity, and cloud and data center services over a Juniper network.

Overview


Company Unified National Networks
Industry Service Provider
Products used MX960SRX5800ACX2200Security Director
Region APAC
Unified National Networks Hero
Customer Success At-a-glance

1 year

to build an all-new network to support Brunei’s smart nation vision

11th

fastest mobile services in the world (June 2022, Speedtest)

93,000

homes and 300 local entities connected 

3000-kilometer

fiber network in a 5700-square-kilometer country

CHALLENGE

Realizing the vision of a smart nation

UNN was formed in 2019, when Brunei consolidated the infrastructure of the country’s three mobile and Internet service providers. After creating a wholly new organization and engineering a brand-new network, UNN is delivering wholesale telecom services.

“We are empowering a digital society in Brunei,” says Dr. Steffen Oehler, CEO of UNN. “Everything we do, including selecting the right technology, helps the nation’s economy, residents’ personal lives, and the educational sector.”

It has been a massive undertaking.

“Modernizing the network while carrying services is like changing the engines on the plane during flight,” he says.

UNN is refreshing the network from core to edge, developing a telco cloud to deliver fixed, mobile, and ICT systems, and implementing new business and operational systems. It shut down the country’s old 2G network, upgrading hundreds of mobile base stations, and is preparing to launch 5G services in 2022 based on market demand. 

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SOLUTION

The digital foundation for a smart nation

“UNN is operating the only network infrastructure in Brunei, and our services must always be accessible,” says Oehler. “We need a modern, reliable, high-capacity network.”

UNN chose Juniper networking not only for resiliency, scalability, and advanced capabilities, but also the partnership. “Juniper helped us think about how to efficiently meet growing data volumes and make the migration without disruption,” says Oehler.

With Brunei a several-hour flight from major Southeast Asian countries, Juniper’s local presence was also key.

“We are jumping from the past to the future in a very short time,” says Oehler.

UNN is modernizing its core, provider edge, and aggregation networks with Juniper to meet Brunei’s growing digital needs. Juniper MX960 Universal Routing Platforms provide high scale, density, and space efficiency for UNN’s 100-Gbps backbone and edge networks. Juniper SRX5800 Services Gateways deliver next-generation firewall, advanced threat protection, and carrier-grade network address translation. Compact, hardened ACX2200 Universal Metro Routers provide metro Ethernet and radio access network aggregation services. 

unified-national-networks-solution
OUTCOME

Delivering on Brunei’s digital master plan

UNN provides the largest fiber and mobile coverage in the nation, reaching 90% of the populated areas and roads. It offers wholesale local and international connectivity and cloud and data center services while partnering with customers on e-commerce, IoT, and other digital initiatives.

UNN’s high-quality network services support Brunei’s strategic vision to create a dynamic and sustainable economy and a better quality of life through world-class education, readying the nation for change while maintaining the country’s cultural values.

As Brunei progresses on its vision of a smart nation, future-proofed Juniper networking solutions help protect its investment and uphold its commitment to provide a quality of life that is aimed to be among the top 10 nations in the world by 2035. 

unified-national-networks-outcome
“We rely on our professional partners to go on this journey with us. Juniper helped us think about how to efficiently meet growing data volumes and make the migration without disruption.”
Dr. Steffen Oehler CEO, Unified National Networks
Related Content

Brunei Accelerates its Digital Economy with Unified National Networks Deploying a Juniper Network

The national service provider in Brunei offers fixed and mobile connectivity, local and international connectivity, and cloud and data center services over a Juniper network.

Published July 2022