HELSINKI (Reuters) – U.S. telecom operator AT&T and Finnish network equipment maker Nokia have signed an agreement to build a fiber-optic network in the United States, the Finnish company said on Tuesday.
The deal comes after Nokia lost a major deal with AT&T to Swedish rival Ericsson. In December, the US operator picked Ericsson to build a telecom network that is expected to cover 70% of mobile traffic in the United States by the end of 2026.
Nokia is targeting new growth opportunities in fiber following AT&T’s $14 billion, five-year deal with Ericsson.
Nokia did not disclose the financial value of the new five-year fiber deal, but called it “a significant milestone” and said it would “expand broadband access for millions of users” in the U.S. while supporting AT&T’s extensive fiber network “which totaled 27.8 million fiber locations by the second quarter of 2024.”
In July, Nokia reported a 32 percent drop in profit, but CEO Pekka Lundmark predicted net sales would grow significantly in the second half of the year, citing a rebound in the U.S. fiber market and a $42 billion U.S. government program to expand citizens’ access to high-speed broadband internet.
Nokia said the fiber deal with AT&T is “Build America, Buy America compliant,” to meet U.S. government funding requirements.
In June, Nokia announced the acquisition of US optical networking equipment manufacturer Infinera in a deal worth $2.3 billion, as it sought to capitalize on billions of dollars in data center investments to capitalize on the rise of artificial intelligence.
(Reporting by Anne Kauranen in Helsinki; Editing by David Evans)
