VodafoneThree says Ericsson and Nokia won UK 5G supply deal

VodafoneThree said Ericsson and Nokia were the only vendors able to deliver the pace and volumes it needed for 5G deployment, according to a Light Reading report. The statement explains why the UK operator chose Ericsson and Nokia as suppliers for its 5G rollout.

Light Reading reported VodafoneThree's position without disclosing additional deployment figures, contract values, or rollout dates in the excerpt provided. The operator's explanation focused on vendor capacity to supply 5G equipment at the scale and speed required for network deployment in the UK.

The choice of Ericsson and Nokia fits the current European 5G supplier landscape, where large mobile network operators (MNOs, companies that run public cellular networks) often rely on a small number of radio access network vendors for nationwide rollouts. In the UK and across Europe, vendor selection for 5G has narrowed as operators balance deployment timelines, equipment availability, and network scale requirements.