Nokia partners with A1 Austria to enable LTE, 5G campus networks

Nokia has announced a services deal with A1 Austria to provide what it calls industrial-grade private wireless technology and services for all existing and new A1 Austria LTE and 5G enterprise campus network deployments.

A1 Telekom Austria Group provides digital services and communications technology in Central and Eastern Europe with about 25 million customers, currently operating in seven countries – Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Belarus, Slovenia, the Republic of North Macedonia (A1) and the Republic of Serbia (Vip mobile).

Under the deal, Nokia will provide operational support and care for all existing campus networks, ensuring adherence to service-level agreements and quality of services requirements.

With the support of Nokia, A1 says it will accelerate the digital transformation of enterprise customers. A1 and Nokia have already successfully deployed a number of private wireless campus networks in Austria, including installations at Magna Steyr, Vienna Airport and 5G Playground Carinthia, a 5G test laboratory for research and development of 5G applications, products, processes and applications in Austria.

The new deal will see Nokia become A1’s technology partner, assuring that it will provide high-performance 4.9G/LTE 5G private wireless network systems.

Also, A1 and its customers are said to be able to benefit from Nokia’s globally proven capabilities in digitisation, automation, artificial intelligence and network slicing. Indeed, AI is a global lead customer for Nokia’s network slicing technology in 4G and 5G mobile networks, a key functionality for enterprise networking, which A1 Austria is planning to make available across the country.

As well as the services contract, Nokia provides A1 Austria with the infrastructure, software and services to set up private LTE networks. This includes a micro core network, AirFrame servers, small or macro cells, and professional services.

Private wireless networks are regarded as ideal for the business-critical communication requirements of factories, logistic hubs and other enterprise verticals, along with public safety organisations. Nokia said research shows that the LTE and 5G market is expected to triple by 2025 as various industries upgrade their investment in private wireless networks to support industrial operations.

Less than two weeks ago, Nokia was revealed as a partner of Verizon Business when the operator launched an international private 5G platform for global enterprises in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. This came just days after arch-rival, US communications giant AT&T, added Nokia’s end-to-end industrial-grade capabilities to its AT&T Private Cellular Networks.

“This deal reinforces the longstanding collaboration between A1 and Nokia, including an agreement to expand next-generation 5G mobile communications in Austria,” said Alexander Stock, CTO at A1 Austria. “A1 is now a clear leader in enterprise in Austria and, together with Nokia as its technology partner, we are looking forward to quickly rolling out new deployments.”

Friedrich Trawöger, head of operator and managed services at Nokia, added: “As operators like A1 Austria diversify their portfolios with new services and business innovation to digitise industries, Nokia is in place to deliver proven expertise in the deployment and operation of business-critical private network solutions. We have had significant success on a number of executed projects with A1 in Austria and this deal will further position both companies as leaders in the private LTE and 5G domain.”