Vodafone Hutchison Teams Up With Nokia To Start 5G Network In Australia

Vodafone Hutchison Australia Pty Limited has teamed up with Nokia Corporation NOK to roll out 5G network in Australia in the first half of 2020, according to Reuters.

What Happened

The 50-50 joint venture of Vodafone Group Plc’s VOD broadband services and Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong Holdings Ltd HTHKY will start its 5G network in Australia, with Nokia as the network vendor, said the companies on Monday.

Vodafone Hutchison will use a Nokia-based network to start its 5G operations in Australia. Nokia announced back in February it would establish 50 live 5G sites by March 2019.  

“They (Nokia) presented a compelling roadmap that aligned with our 5G objectives and will help us to continue improving our 4G network for our customers,” said Iñaki Berroeta, Vodafone’s Chief Executive Officer in a statement.

Why It Matters

Vodafone Hutchison’s move to team up with Nokia comes after their first attempt to partner with the struggling Australian business TPG Telecom Ltd TPPTY was blocked by the Australian competition regulator in May.

In August 2018, Australia tightened its national security rules to exclude telecommunication suppliers with links to foreign countries. The country later banned China’s Huawei from rolling out 5G mobile infrastructure, which opened up a big opportunity for its competitors like Nokia.