· Deal builds on existing relationship with Japanese operator extending back to 3G era

Nokia announced that Nokia’s cloud-native, 5G Core software has been selected by SoftBank Corp. (“SoftBank”) to enable the launch of SoftBank’s standalone 5G services. Nokia will help support new consumer and enterprise use cases, such as immersive experiences (VR/AR/MR), fixed wireless access, video surveillance and analytics, cloud robotics and connected vehicles with a standalone 5G Core in global markets.  

Nokia’s cloud-native 5G Core software gives operators a variety of capabilities required in the 5G era that drive greater scalability and reliability. SoftBank’s subscribers will also experience the benefits of 5G, such as lower latency, increased bandwidth and massive device connectivity.

Nokia’s open 5G Core architecture gives operators the flexibility to be responsive to market demands while controlling costs at a time of growing network complexity. Developed around cloud-native and DevOps principals, Nokia’s 5G Core will automate the lifecycle management of SoftBank’s networks, as well as enable continuous software delivery and integration.

From Nokia’s Cloud Packet Core portfolio, SoftBank will deploy the Cloud Mobility Manager and Cloud Mobile Gateway products to support massive scale, performance and reliability required for the delivery of Softbank’s innovative 5G services. Other Nokia products like Subscriber Data Management with Shared Data Layer, and a cloud-native database accessible via industry standard protocols will enable an open ecosystem and the integration of third-party applications.

Keiichi Makizono, Senior Vice President, CIO of SoftBank, said: “We are pleased to be expanding our relationship with Nokia as we enable fast and reliable 5G service for our subscribers. This 5G core solution will catapult us into the next phase of our 5G transition.”

John Lancaster-Lennox, Head of Market Unit Japan, Nokia, said: “Nokia 5G Core’s near-zero-touch automation capabilities, high-level operational efficiencies, scale and performance will help SoftBank deliver advanced services and experience, and boost network reliability. This is a tremendous way to be expanding Nokia’s longstanding relationship with SoftBank.”