Nokia Teams Up with AT&T for 5G Technology

Nokia Oyj and AT&T Inc. have formed a partnership for the former’s 5G technology.

Nokia announced this week that it has entered into a five-year partnership with AT&T for use of its C-Brand Solutions Portfolio.

The C-Brand portfolio includes the company’s 5G technology and will be deployed to customers of AT&T across parts of the U.S. The first phase will open up towards the end of the year.

C-Band spectrum, between 3.4 GHz and 4.2 GHz, is a crucial resource for operators to offer the best mix of 5G network capacity and coverage to subscribers. In the U.S. 280 MHz of spectrum, between 3.7 GHz and 3.98 GHz, has been allocated of use by 5G services.

Through the partnership with Nokia, AT&T will be able to increase its network capacity to support the highly anticipated 5G coverage inside and outside. It will also include more from Nokia’s C-Brand portfolio: MIMO antenna solutions, macro remote radio heads, and next-generation AirScale baseband equipment.

Igal Elbaz, Senior Vice President of Wireless and Access Technology AT&T commented, “AT&T is committed to bringing the power of 5G to businesses and communities across the nation, and our C-Band deployments with Nokia will help add 5G capacity where it’s needed. Nokia has been our trusted collaborator for more than 20 years as we’ve rolled out each generation of wireless technology, and its C-Band portfolio brings the right capabilities to help enable AT&T to deliver an exciting and powerful 5G experience that our subscribers have come to expect from us.”

Ed Cholerton, President of Nokia North America, remarked, “Nokia is ready to support the launch of 5G services into this valuable new spectrum on our customers’ timelines by leveraging our powerful portfolio of C-Band solutions and by being the first to demonstrate a live C-Band network in the U.S. in 2020. Our flexible and comprehensive portfolio will enable AT&T to enhance its 5G services in areas across the nation.”
According to the company’s press release, Nokia was the very first company to demonstrate a live C-Band network in the U.S.

Tommi Uitto, President, Mobile Networks, Nokia, stated back in January, “Now that the U.S. has completed its C-Band spectrum auction, the carriers are turning their attention towards capitalizing on their new spectrum assets and rolling out new 5G services. Nokia has a comprehensive range of solutions ready-to-go that cover all customer requirements and scenarios. We look forward to working with our customers to deploy these solutions and help deliver incredible 5G experiences to businesses and consumers across the country.”

Nokia also announced partnerships recently with Amazon.com Inc.’s (NASDAQ: AMZN) Amazon Web Services (AWS), Alphabet Inc’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Google Cloud and Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT) for use of Nokia’s cloud technology.

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.