Nokia reaches 100 5G deals, 160 commercial 5G engagements

5th October 2020 By: Natasha Odendaal - Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

Information and communications technology group Nokia has reached the milestone of 100 commercial fifth-generation (5G) deals with individual customers and a total of 160 commercial 5G engagements, including paid trials.

This following the signing of 17 new 5G commercial deals during the third quarter of 2020.

Nokia, which is present in all 5G early adopter markets and deals with the top four US-based communication service providers and the top three in both Japan and Korea, signed a new 5G deal with BT in the UK and a renewed 5G deal with Elisa in Finland in the past week.

“We are thrilled to have passed this 5G milestone. We know we still have work to do and that the market remains highly competitive. But, we are moving fast – and these wins make it clear that our progress is being validated by customers. We deeply appreciate their ongoing support and are committed to delivering for them,” said Nokia mobile networks president Tommi Uitto.

Nokia’s 5G portfolio is also gaining traction among enterprises, which now account for 12% of its 5G deals, with recent private wireless deployments including Deutsche Bahn, Toyota Production Engineering and Sandvik.

Nokia also boasts a 180-strong portfolio of private wireless customers, many of whom are expected to migrate to 5G.

Nokia attributes the increasing 5G momentum to advances in its technology, including the pioneering of fourth-generation (4G) and 5G network slicing, the introduction of the industry’s first dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS) solution and the ability to migrate five-million legacy 4G radio units to 5G through a software upgrade.

Further, Nokia became one of the first network equipment providers to make its 5G standalone private wireless technology commercially available, and the company contributed to the world’s first large-scale 5G standalone launch with T-Mobile in the US.