Ericsson and Nokia Won £2 Billion Contracts with VodafoneThree

VodafoneThree awarded contracts to Ericsson and Nokia to build out the newly formed operator’s mobile network. The Swedish vendor claims it has won a majority of the deal.

In a statement, VodafoneThree explained it had selected partners to deliver one of the UK’s largest privately funded infrastructure projects, with deals totalling more than £2 billion, as part of a wider £11 billion network investment plan. It said Ericsson and Nokia made up the majority, but not the entirety of VodafoneThree’s network build, which will culminate in a greater number of sites.

Samsung Networks said it respects VodafoneThree’s decision to consolidate its existing vendor relationships. A spokesperson added that despite missing out in the UK, it will be named as a major vendor in Vodafone’s Spring 6 tender, when the operator names partners for a network infrastructure upgrade covering 15 countries across Europe and Africa sometime in October. “This development allows us to support Vodafone’s Open RAN deployment at scale across Europe,” added Samsung.

Ericsson released its own announcement stating it would power the majority of VodafoneThree’s next-generation UK network, in an SEK12.5 billion deal (£1 billion). As part of an eight-year agreement, Ericsson will be tasked with supplying its entire core network, as well as radio system products and software solutions to power a significant majority of the operator’s enhanced radio network. Ericsson added that it had secured a primary vendor partnership status, allowing it to deploy 5G standalone network hardware, and its technology would exclusively cover four UK capitals: London, Edinburgh, Cardiff, and Belfast.

Nokia, meanwhile, described its share of the award as significant, in a move that marks its return as a supplier for Vodafone and Three in the UK. The Finnish vendor also secured an eight-year deal, supplying equipment from its RAN portfolio to approximately 7,000 sites in the UK and modernising a part of VodafoneThree’s voice core. VodafoneThree CEO Max Taylor said the company is making good on a promise to deliver at pace just a few months into its merger, completed in June.