Nokia Networks will be working alongside Ericsson to upgrade T-Mobile to LTE-Advanced, expand VoLTE and improve WiFi handoff.

Sarah Thomas, Director, Women in Comms

October 1, 2014

1 Min Read
Nokia Joins Ericsson in Updating T-Mobile LTE

Longtime T-Mobile partner Nokia Networks will join Ericsson in helping the operator deploy LTE-Advanced infrastructure and services, the Finnish vendor confirmed on Wednesday.

Nokia Networks 's contract extension comes just one week after Ericsson AB (Nasdaq: ERIC) announced it would also be working with T-Mobile US Inc. on LTE-Advanced, voice-over-LTE (VoLTE) and small cells. The two contracts are similar in scope and represent extensions as both have been supporting the carrier since 2012. (See T-Mobile Taps Ericsson for LTE Upgrades and T-Mobile Picks NSN, Ericsson for LTE.)

For more on T-Mobile's network upgrades, peruse our dedicated mobile page here on Light Reading.

Nokia says it will help T-Mobile deploy LTE in the 700MHz and 1900MHz bands, take advantage of carrier aggregation, expand the reach of VoLTE and work on seamless handoff to WiFi. Like Ericsson, it will also work on updating its 2G equipment with RF sharing functionality between GSM and LTE.

T-Mobile has made a big comeback in the last year with its cost-cutting, promotion-heavy "uncarrier" moves, but it still needs work on the network front. While it's the only US operator that can claim nationwide VoLTE, it still has gaps in its coverage, especially in rural areas, that Ericsson and Nokia are helping it to address. (See T-Mobile Turns Up VoLTE-to-WiFi Handoff and T-Mobile: Going Bananas for Low-Band.)

— Sarah Reedy, Senior Editor, Light Reading

About the Author(s)

Sarah Thomas

Director, Women in Comms

Sarah Thomas's love affair with communications began in 2003 when she bought her first cellphone, a pink RAZR, which she duly "bedazzled" with the help of superglue and her dad.

She joined the editorial staff at Light Reading in 2010 and has been covering mobile technologies ever since. Sarah got her start covering telecom in 2007 at Telephony, later Connected Planet, may it rest in peace. Her non-telecom work experience includes a brief foray into public relations at Fleishman-Hillard (her cussin' upset the clients) and a hodge-podge of internships, including spells at Ingram's (Kansas City's business magazine), American Spa magazine (where she was Chief Hot-Tub Correspondent), and the tweens' quiz bible, QuizFest, in NYC.

As Editorial Operations Director, a role she took on in January 2015, Sarah is responsible for the day-to-day management of the non-news content elements on Light Reading.

Sarah received her Bachelor's in Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She lives in Chicago with her 3DTV, her iPad and a drawer full of smartphone cords.

Away from the world of telecom journalism, Sarah likes to dabble in monster truck racing, becoming part of Team Bigfoot in 2009.

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