Nokia picked to swap out Huawei at Finland’s shared networks

The telecoms kit maker Nokia is chosen by Finnish Shared Networks to deploy 5G RAN in Northern and Eastern Finland, as well as replacing the existing 2G, 3G, and 4G networks deployed by Huawei five years ago.

The deal also includes managed services for the Finnish Shared Networks (Suomen Yhteisverkko, or SYV in Finnish), jointly owned by Telia Finland and DNA (a subsidiary of Telenor). The contracted network covers half of the country’s land mass but only 15% of its population. Shared radio networks make more business and economic sense in areas with sparse population, due to the high cost related to radio coverage and low expected return.

Nokia summarised the scope of the project in a statement. “The overhaul is primarily driven by 5G deployment and will enable SYV to future-proof its infrastructure for the next generation of digital services, whilst improving current 2G, 3G and 4G capabilities across the sites. Nokia will be the provider responsible for the network infrastructure upgrade, providing field maintenance, network monitoring and implementation services.” The project is expected to run for three years starting from the beginning of next year.

“When evaluating potential long-term partners to help us modernize our network infrastructure, we chose Nokia for its expertise in the market as well as the comprehensive set of sustainable and secure solutions it offers,” commented Antti Jokinen, CEO of SYV. “Aside from the radio and IP connectivity equipment we needed as part of our 5G network deployment, Nokia’s wide range of managed services and impeccable global reputation meant it stood out as a reliable vendor to help us future proof our infrastructure investment. We look forward to cooperating with the Nokia team to provide 5G-enabled services in the very near future in an efficient manner.”

“We take great pride in being selected as the trusted partner to modernize SYV’s network infrastructure and pave the way to a 5G-enabled future for its customers,” added Tommi Uitto, President, Mobile Networks at Nokia. “Our product and service portfolio is ideal for organizations aiming to capitalize on the latest technology trends. We look forward to working closely with SYV to help them bring DNA’s and Telia’s end customers the best 5G coverage and services across northern and eastern parts of Finland.”

SYV’s existing LTE RAN in these parts of Finland were deployed by Huawei, contracted back in 2015. At that time Huawei was also commissioned to use its “multi-radio technology” to upgrade the host network’s legacy 2G and 3G RANs. In other words, the latest deal awarded to Nokia is a straight swap-out of Huawei.

This is Nokia’s second win of this kind in just over two weeks. Earlier this month, Proximus and Orange in Belgium also dropped Huawei and went for Nokia for their shared RAN covering from 2G to 5G.

DNA and Telia each has its own RANs in the more densely populated areas, including the capital area surrounding Helsinki. DNA and Elisa use Huawei on their 5G networks.

UPDATE, 0900 27 October 2020: Updated final paragraph to clarify which networks currently use Huawei kit.