VodafoneThree Sign £2bn UK Network Upgrade Deal with Ericsson and Nokia

Mobile operator VodafoneThree (Vodafone and Three UK) has this morning announced that they’ve signed two multi-billion-pound and 8-year long partnerships with network technology suppliers Ericsson and Nokia. The deals will see both suppliers provide radios and other cell / core network kit and services for 17,000+ mobile sites across the United Kingdom.

The announcement forms part of VodafoneThree’s post-merger plan to invest £11bn into upgrading the UK’s 5G mobile infrastructure and coverage over the next decade (here, here and here). The combined business has also previously stated that it aspires to reach more than 99.95% of the UK population with their 5G Standalone (5GSA) network by 2034 and push fixed wireless access (mobile home broadband) to 82% of households by 2030, among other things.

As part of the above, today’s deal reflects the fact that two leading global communications technology suppliers, Ericsson and Nokia, have now been appointed as key partners in the delivery of all this. In addition, four additional British-based telecoms site-build partners – Beacon Communication Services Limited, Circet Wireless Limited, M Group Limited and WHP Telecoms Limited – will support delivery of the vital work.

The overall project is described as being “one of Europe and the UK’s largest privately-funded infrastructure builds” and one that will help boost the UK economy by “up to” £102bn between 2025 and 2035, creating as many as 13,000 jobs in engineering and construction (74% of the roles will be outside of London and the South East). But it’s always wise to take such big economic claims with a pinch of salt, as they can be hard to prove.

The deal was not unexpected as both Ericsson and Nokia were strategic suppliers to both operators before the merger, which was naturally something that needed updating post-merger to reflect the combined network strategy.

Max Taylor, CEO, VodafoneThree, said:

“We said we would deliver at pace and, just a few months in, we are delighted to announce our strategic partners, Ericsson and Nokia, that will work with us to deliver our ambition of building the UK’s best network. They bring the scale and expertise needed to accelerate the delivery of a resilient, secure, world-class and future-ready network, and together, we are laying the foundations for the UK’s digital future.”

Börje Ekholm, President and CEO, Ericsson, said:

“We are proud to partner with VodafoneThree as their primary vendor to power them with the most advanced programmable network products, software and solutions in the world. Trusted high-performing programmable networks are critical to success for the UK’s digital economy. AI, automation and virtual/augmented reality won’t reach their potential without them.”

Justin Hotard, President and CEO at Nokia said:

“Today’s networks need new levels of performance, trust, and resilience. We are pleased that VodafoneThree has chosen our industry-leading network solutions to build a future-proof 5G Standalone network across the UK to meet the needs of customers today and as the AI supercycle accelerates.”

As part of the agreement, Ericsson will deploy its next generation, high-performing Radio Access Network (RAN) and core network solutions across the UK, reaching over 10,000 sites. This is in addition to modernising existing 4G and 5G infrastructure. Meanwhile, Nokia will supply equipment from its ultra-performance RAN portfolio to approximately 7,000 sites and will also “modernise part of VodafoneThree’s voice core“.

The two partners make up the majority, but not the entirety (some of the missing bit may reflect Vodafone’s OpenRAN deployment), of VodafoneThree’s network build, which will culminate in a greater number of sites. The result should not only deliver better mobile coverage for consumers, but also a more reliable network, with more capacity and of course faster mobile broadband speeds.

UPDATE 7:43am

We understand both deals are worth a combined £2bn.