Finnish kit vendor Nokia has been chosen by Swiss operator group Swisscom to bring the latest whizzy tech to its optical infrastructure.

What’s more, Nokia is the sole supplier, which possibly isn’t such an unusual thing in the context of optical transport. As you would hope, a bit part of this modernization involves future-proofing the network to make further capacity and bandwidth upgrades easier. This involves injecting a fair bit more automation into the management of the network than there currently is.

“Swisscom has set out its network expansion strategy until the end of 2025, which is to equip the network for the new decade,” said Christoph Aeschlimann, CIO and CTO of Swisscom. “This strategic partnership with Nokia highlights Swisscom’s commitment to delivering a high capacity, fully automated nationwide optical backbone for Switzerland.

“This next-generation transport network can quickly adapt to changes and provide superior services and connectivity experiences to our customers. Nokia has proven to be a trusted partner and has been the preferred choice to transform our optical network.”

“We are providing a complete, customer-focused and business driven solution that will transform Swisscom’s optical transport network into a service engine that’s ready to deliver new services,” said James Watt, Head of the Optical Networks Division at Nokia. “Swisscom will also benefit from a more automated network that streamlines service delivery and optimizes its total cost of ownership, creating value for both its business and customers.”

Watt and his team have quietly gone about delivering solid numbers while their colleagues on the mobile side have endured more of a rollercoaster ride. This was a major factor in Nokia exceeding expectations in Q1 of this year and there is presumably a lot more optical transport network upgrade work out there, which Nokia seems to be in a strong position to grab.