China Mobile has awarded Nokia a contract worth up to €1.36 billion ($1.53 billion) to help the operator transition to a cloud network infrastructure.
With the deal China Mobile has become the first operator to announce plans to deploy Nokia's 5G-ready AirScale base stations, which allow multiple radio technologies to operate simultaneously in one base station.
Nokia will also provide additional mobile radio access and core technologies as well as fixed access, IP routing and optical transport, CEM, OSS and third party products.
Going forward the companies said they plan to collaborate closely to define the products and services that will help China Mobile meet the soaring demands for mobile data among Chinese consumers.
The companies noted that the vast majority of China's internet users use mobile devices to connect - around 620 million of a total of 688 million.
“This is a highly significant agreement with our longstanding partner; it strengthens Nokia’s position as a leading provider of next-generation technologies in China, and reflects our larger footprint in the country following the acquisition of Alcatel-Lucent,” Nokia Networks China and ASB president Mike Wang said.
“We are committed to delivering mobile broadband capabilities that will allow operators to optimize their networks and open up new opportunities for them and their subscribers.”