Nokia bags 5G deal with Taiwan's Asia Pacific Telecom

Nokia trumpeted a new 5G deal with Taiwan-based Asia Pacific Telecom (APT), boasting it has been selected as sole supplier for both non-standalone and standalone versions of the next-generation network.

The deal covers both the 5G radio access network (RAN) and core network, although the contract value was not disclosed.

Figure 1: Capturing Taipei: The deal with APT is just the latest for Nokia in the island state.
(Source: Vernon Raineil Cenzon on Unsplash)

APT only recently obtained its 5G operating license in the 28MHz band, and said it is actively implementing the 5G network, with the aim of launching services in the third quarter.

Meet me in Taipei
The operator has previously indicated it plans to offer 5G services over both the 3.5GHz and 28GHz bands.

However, it will need to agree a deal with a rival to gain access to 3.5GHz spectrum, after failing to secure frequencies in this band during Taiwan's spectrum auction in February.

Reports have suggested APT is in talks with Taiwan Mobile regarding a possible deal to build and share 5G infrastructure.

For its part, Nokia seems to be doing quite well in Taiwan. It recently announced a 5G deal with Taiwan Star Telecom, and was also selected as the RAN vendor by Chunghwa Telecom.

Indeed, after experiencing a somewhat torrid time of late, and admitting the full extent of its 5G problems, the Finnish vendor is now showing signs that the worst is behind it.

Bringing up the rear
Nokia said the APT contract marks its 85th commercial 5G deal. That still puts it some way behind Ericsson, which boasts 99 5G contracts and 54 "live" networks, but Nokia is confident its share of the 4G and 5G markets will remain stable at 27% this year.

Want to know more about 5G? Check out our dedicated 5G content channel here on Light Reading.

Tommi Uitto, head of mobile networks at Nokia, also claimed to have won some 5G business from operators it has not supplied as a 4G vendor, although details have not been disclosed.

The APT deal is not among them, however: Nokia noted that it is a long-standing partner of APT and provides the majority of its 4G network.

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— Anne Morris, contributing editor, special to Light Reading