Nokia supports T-Mobile 5G evolution with five-year expansion deal

Nokia supports T-Mobile 5G evolution with five-year expansion deal

• T-Mobile extends a longstanding partnership with Nokia to expand its nationwide 5G network
• Nokia’s Airscale Massive MIMO to light up T-Mobile’s (2.5GHz mid-band) Ultra Capacity 5G
• Un-carrier customers to experience increased 5G speeds by combining the extended range (low-band) 5G with the additional Ultra Capacity 5G (2.5GHz mid-band)

14 January 2021

Espoo, Finland – Nokia today announced a continuation of its long standing T-Mobile partnership with a five-year deal. T-Mobile will utilize Nokia’s AirScale Radio platform to deploy an Ultra Capacity 5G layer with 2.5GHz Massive MIMO technology, shifting the Un-carrier customer experience into overdrive. Under the new agreement, Nokia will continue to expand T-Mobile’s extended range (low-band) 5G coverage. Both the extended range and Ultra Capacity enhancements will augment user experience and network capacity by leveraging T-Mobile’s multi-layer spectrum strategy.

To support the Un-carrier’s supercharged 5G network, Nokia will supply its market-leading AirScale radio access solutions – including macro and small cells across low, mid-band and mmWave spectrum. Massive MIMO, a key 5G technology, will allow T-Mobile’s 2.5GHz mid-band spectrum to be utilized to its full potential.  Massive MIMO will boost network performance to its customers in the form of higher speeds and lower latency, further assisting T-Mobile’s home internet strategy. All of these enhanced user experiences are built upon T-Mobile’s nationwide 5G standalone network. As part of the deal, Nokia will also enable T-Mobile to upgrade its mid-band LTE network to 5G and continue to expand their extended range (low-band) 5G network.

Neville Ray, President of Technology, T-Mobile, said: “From the moment Sprint became part of T-Mobile, we’ve been rapidly combining networks for a supercharged Un-carrier experience while continuing to aggressively expand our nationwide 5G footprint. We have already taken a massive step forward with nationwide standalone 5G earlier this year, and this agreement with Nokia will help us to deliver incredible innovation and opportunity in this country.”

Pekka Lundmark, President and CEO of Nokia, commented: “Nokia has a long-standing and collaborative partnership with T-Mobile and our industry-leading 5G RAN solutions will underpin the new T-Mobile network. The expanded and upgraded 5G network that leverages all spectrum bands will deliver exciting new solutions to even more people and businesses, and our technology will play a fundamental role in delivering these compelling connectivity experiences for work and play.”

Note: Nokia comments that the outlook provided in the Nokia Financial Report for Q3 and January-September 2020 issued on October 29, 2020 included the expected impact of this deal with T-Mobile announced today, and thus is not affected by today’s announcement.