Vodafone picks Ericsson, Nokia for £2 billion network buildout

(Bloomberg) – Vodafonethree has chosen Ericsson EU and Nokia Oyj for an £ 2 billion ($ 2.7 billion) contract to expand the newly created mobile operator’s network.

Vodafonethree said on Monday that Ericsson has won a little more of the contract with the Swedish seller, whom he chose to distribute the radio access network to 10,000 sites and raise the core network. Nokia will supply Ran technology to 7,000 sites.

2 billion £, eight -year contract, 5G equipment, two Scandinavian producers provide a very needed sales in a stagnant mobile market. Operators, especially in Europe, have delayed expensive upgrades in recent years.

In December, Vodafonethree promised to invest £ 11 billion when the mobile carrier was created in the joint attempt between the UK unit of Vodafone Group PLC, which was approved by the regulators in December and the three Hutchison Holdings Ltd. of the CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd. The new asset of the majority of Vodafone Group became the UK’s largest mobile carrier with about 28.8 million customers.

The agreement is a blow to Samsung Networks, who struggled to gain a big market share in network equipment, despite the fact that operators want to keep their rivals alive. Vodafone Group is a special supporter of the Korean seller and efforts to improve Openran, which allows operators to mix and match parts from different vendors.

Vodafone Group stressed that Samsung has a greater tender for the entire network in Europe and that Samsung will be a member of this larger European presentation.

“Vodafone Group has chosen a series of strategic partners, including Samsung, Ericsson and Nokia to offer a ready -made network infrastructure covering 15 countries in Europe and Africa,” said Vodafone Group representative. This includes both Openran on a “scale” in Europe.

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