Nokia gets new telecom contract from Deutsche Telekom, replacing Huawei

NOKIA has signed a contract with Deutsche Telekom to roll out a mobile network using Open Radio Access Network (Oran) in more than 3,000 sites in Germany, the Finnish telecom equipment maker said in a statement on Wednesday (Nov 27).

The new deal formally marks Nokia’s return as a supplier to Europe’s largest network, after Deutsche Telekom chose Ericsson equipment for parts of its network in 2017.

The deal, which includes Fujitsu, covers a mass rollout of Oran-compliant technology with commercial deployment already underway in the Neubrandenburg area of Northern Germany.

After the companies did a trial run last year, Nokia will replace equipment from the incumbent, China’s Huawei.

Both Nokia and Ericsson have been looking to sell equipment with Oran technology that promises deep cost cuts by using cloud-based software and equipment from many suppliers instead of relying on just one.

Ericsson had already got big contracts with AT&T and Spain’s largest telecoms operator, MasOrange. REUTERS