Nokia signs 5-year C-Band deal with AT&T to support 5G

Mobile phone company Nokia has agreed a five-year, C-Band deal with AT&T to support the 5G network.

The deal, signed on Thursday 18 March in Dallas, Texas, is accessible to customers of AT&T and plans to boost network capacity whilst also offering both indoor and outdoor 5G mobile data coverage.

The level of support extends to both 5G standalone (SA) networks and non-standalone (NSA) networks, as well as cloud-based implementations and OpenRAN products.

Outlining the new agreement, Senior Vice President of Wireless and Access Technology, Igal Elbaz, said: “AT&T is committed to bringing the power of 5G to businesses and communities across the nation and our C-Band deployments with Nokia will help add 5G capacity where it’s needed.

“Nokia has been our trusted collaborator for more than 20 years as we’ve rolled out each generation of wireless technology, and its C-Band portfolio brings the right capabilities to help enable AT&T to deliver an exciting and powerful 5G experience that our subscribers have come to expect from us”, he said.

Features of the portfolio include Nokia’s MIMO antenna solutions, macro remote radio heads and next generation AirScale baseband equipment, all of which will be available near the end of 2021 when the first phase of the spectrum is deployed.

Ed Cholerton, President of Nokia North America, says that “Nokia is ready to support the launch of 5G services into this valuable new spectrum on our customers’ timelines by leveraging our powerful portfolio of C-Band solutions and by being the first to demonstrate a live C-Band network in the U.S. in 2020. 

“Our flexible and comprehensive portfolio will enable AT&T to enhance its 5G services in areas across the nation.”

The C-Band spectrum aims to provide a good balance between capacity and coverage, while also allowing rapid 5G rollout and fast introduction of services which is vital in all markets.