Vodafone Hutchison Australia has announced that Nokia will be supply its 5G equipment in the new year. The company has also said that it will begin to switch on its first 5G sites "in and around" Parramatta over the coming months.
Moving from trials to reality
"We started our 5G journey with Vodafone in 2016 and are now moving from trials to reality. Nokia's end-to-end portfolio has a key role to play here, with this deal including 5G radio access network, IP/optical, microwave, deployment and managed services, as well as software," Nokia president of EMEA and APAC customer operations Federico Guillén said.
The agreement between Vodafone Australia and Nokia is set to last for five years. Vodafone has said that the deal will allow it to place orders with Nokia for site delivery, and it can reuse its existing 4G spectrum for 5G.
Ditching Huawei
"Our focus has always been to deliver the best possible mobile service for our customers. With 5G devices only just starting to become more widely available, now is the right time to start rolling out 5G."
Iñaki Berroeta, Vodafone.
Vodafone has previously used the Hauwei equipment for its 4G network. However, the ban by the Australian government has forced Vodafone to look for alternatives, which is where Nokia comes into play. (Huawei had to cut 100 jobs in Australia in August following the ban, which could rise to 400 over the next few years.)
"We have been preparing for the evolution of 5G for a long time," Vodafone Australia CEO Iñaki Berroeta said. "Our focus has always been to deliver the best possible mobile service for our customers. With 5G devices only just starting to become more widely available, now is the right time to start rolling out 5G. We're excited to continue this journey with Nokia."
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