T-mobile, Nokia sign $3.5-billion deal on 5G network equipment

U.S. major wireless carrier T-Mobile Inc. on Monday announced a landmark 3.5-billion-U.S.-dollar agreement with Finland's Nokia to accelerate the deployment of the first nationwide 5G network in the United States.

View of the stand of Nokia during the 2018 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Shanghai on June 29, 2018 [File photo: China Business News/IC]

The third largest U.S. mobile carrier based in Bellevue, Washington state, said Nokia will provide it with the Finnish firm's complete end-to-end 5G technology, software and services portfolio to bring its 5G services to customers in the critical first years of the 5G cycle.

Under the world's largest deal, Nokia will help build T-Mobile's nationwide 5G network with 600 MHz and 28 GHz millimeter wave 5G capabilities compliant with 3GPP 5G New Radio (NR) standards.

5G networks promise to deliver faster speeds, massive connectivity for mobile phone users and make networks more responsive and reliable for customers, which will unleash on-demand virtual reality and augmented reality experiences, driverless vehicles, medical monitoring, and other industrial application, T-mobile said.

With 5G technology, T-Mobile will team up with Nokia to develop, test and launch the next generation of connectivity services that will cover a wide range of industries, including enterprise, smart cities, utilities, transportation, health, manufacturing, retail, agriculture and government agencies.

"Every dollar we spend is a 5G dollar, and our agreement with Nokia underscores the kind of investment we're making to bring customers a mobile, nationwide 5G network," said Neville Ray, chief technology officer at T-Mobile. 

Ashish Chowdhary, Nokia's chief customer operations officer, said the two companies will advance the large-scale deployment of 5G services throughout the United States.

T-Mobile had said earlier that its customers in New York, Los Angeles, Dallas and Las Vegas will be the first to access 5G technology services in early 2019.