Industry giants sign massive 5G deal

Nokia has signed a $3.5 billion, multi-year agreement to kit-out T-Mobile’s 5G network in the US.

The deal involves the deployment of the company’s “complete end-to-end technology, software and services portfolio" to aid T-Mobile “in the critical first years of the 5G cycle.”

The network will be built with 600 MHz and 28 GHz millimeter wave 5G capabilities, compliant with 3GPP 5G new radio (NR) standards.

Speaking of the deal, Neville Ray, chief technology officer at T-Mobile said: “We are all in on 5G. Every dollar we spend is a 5G dollar, and our agreement with Nokia underscores the kind of investment we’re making to bring customers a mobile, nationwide network.”

Ashish Chowdhary, chief customer operations officer, Nokia, said: "Nokia and T-Mobile will advance the large-scale deployment of 5G services throughout the United States. This is a testament to our companies’ strong and productive working relationship, which has produced several important technological milestones in recent months.”

According to a statement, T-Mobile will leverage multiple products across Nokia’s 5G technology portfolio, including commercial AirScale radio platforms and cloud-native core, AirFrame hardware, CloudBand software, SON and 5G acceleration services.