SK Telecom (Nasdaq: SKM) has announced LG-Ericsson Co. Ltd. , Nokia Networks and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (Korea: SEC) as its three Long Term Evolution (LTE) infrastructure suppliers, it announced today.

The South Korean operator, which has more than 25.7 million customers, is sourcing radio access network (RAN) equipment from all three vendors, and mobile core infrastructure from LG-Ericsson and Samsung.

The deal, along with the LTE deal with Japanese operator KDDI Corp. that Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) will inherit once (if?) its acquisition of Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT)'s mobile assets goes through, is significant for the European vendor, says Heavy Reading Senior Analyst Patrick Donegan. (See Huawei Sues to Block Moto Sale to NSN and KDDI Picks Challengers for LTE Deployment.)

"Attention has tended to focus on NSN's relative lack of success to date in the U.S. and China in the 3G and 4G LTE equipment markets. These new footprints secured in Japan and South Korea don't fully compensate for that, but they are evidence of significant renewed momentum in other key global accounts," states Donegan.

— Ray Le Maistre, International Managing Editor, Light Reading