Nokia missing from Verizon’s C-band frenzy

Verizon said it is currently deploying equipment from Ericsson and Samsung as part of its $10 billion project to upgrade its network with C-band spectrum.

But Nokia was not named in Verizon’s announcement.

“We are announcing equipment from Samsung and Ericsson in this announcement,” a Verizon representative said in response to questions from Light Reading about Nokia’s absence.

“Nokia continues to work closely with Verizon on its 5G evolution plans,” a Nokia representative told Light Reading.

Rumors surfaced last year that Verizon was preparing to replace Nokia with Samsung as one of its primary wireless network equipment suppliers. Just a few months later, Verizon announced a $6.6 billion deal with Samsung for 5G.

Earlier this year, Verizon agreed to spend roughly $50 billion on midband C-band spectrum licenses across most of the US. The operator in March said it expects to spend an additional $10 billion over the next three years on the necessary equipment, towers and other expenses to put those spectrum licenses into action.

Then, last week, Verizon inked agreements with tower companies Crown Castle and SBA Communications for the project. And earlier this week, Verizon said it “tapped Ericsson and Samsung to supply the Radio Access Network (RAN) equipment for this massive deployment.”

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