Nokia announced that its 5G Standalone Core has been selected by NOS to give the Portuguese operator a fully automated and scalable software model, with near zero touch automation and ultra-low latency capabilities, for delivering new innovative 5G customer offerings securely, at scale, and with advanced operational efficiencies.
The two companies, further expanding their partnership, also signed a memorandum of understanding to utilize Nokia’s Network as Code platform with developer portal (platform). Under this agreement, Nokia and NOS will work to create application programmable interfaces (APIs) that will enable third-party developers -- harnessing the operator’s 5G network capabilities and data -- to write software programs for a variety of industrial, enterprise, and consumer use cases.
Nokia has signed collaboration agreements with 10 network operators and ecosystem partners to use its platform, which was launched in September 2023. Nokia is leading the 5G Standalone Core market with over 80 communication service provider (CSP) customers around the world. In addition, 30 of the top 40 CSPs by revenue rely on Nokia Core network products.
Nokia will also provide NOS with its scalable MantaRay Network Management solution, previously known as NetAct, for a consolidated and automated network view for improved network monitoring and management. The cloud fabric/networking infrastructure for this project will be provided with the Nokia 7220 IXR interconnect routers which are managed and automated by the Nokia Fabric Services System.
Fran Heeran, Senior Vice President & General Manager of Product & Engineering, Cloud and Network Services at Nokia, said: “We are delighted to widen Nokia’s partnership with NOS through our complete, cloud native 5G Core solution that will enable NOS to rollout new customer services securely and flexibly with finely tuned service level agreements (SLAs). Our cloud-native core architecture incorporates web scale technologies that allow operators to deploy without limitations in multi-cloud environments.”
Shkumbin Hamiti, Head of Network Monetization Platform, Cloud and Network Services at Nokia, said: "The advanced capabilities of NOS’s 5G network, in conjunction with the Nokia Network as Code platform with developer portal, will give developers another important pathway for devising software solutions for their customers and driving value creation. I am very pleased Nokia is expanding its ecosystem with another important European operator to enhance our strategic collaborative approach for enterprises and consumers in Portugal.”
Jorge Graça, Chief Technology Officer at NOS, said: “Innovation is a core tenet of our market leadership in 5G and the collaboration with Nokia has proven to be key in that continued success. With the introduction of Nokia’s 5G SA Core we can further monetize our assets by exposing our network functions and exploring new growth opportunities.”