HELSINKI, April 2, 2026, 19:14 EEST
Nokia has landed a fresh multi-year deal to provide 5G radio access network equipment for Virgin Media O2 in the UK, securing its position in the critical hardware that connects mobile devices to towers as the operator moves forward with an upgrade across the country. Under the March 31 agreement, Nokia is set to deliver AirScale baseband and radio products.
Timing is key here as Virgin Media O2 ramps up its investment pace. Back in March, the operator pledged another 700 million pounds for its mobile network this year. Then, on April 1, it announced the launch of its 5G+ service—its own upgraded 5G—now live in 14 big towns and cities, 16 smaller towns, and 252 rural villages across East Sussex.
Virgin Media O2 has struck new deals with Nokia and Ericsson, agreements the company values in the hundreds of millions of pounds, aiming to overhaul thousands of sites nationwide for better capacity, coverage and reliability. “Mobile data demand is growing at pace,” said Jeanie York, chief technology officer at the operator. Mark Atkinson of Nokia called the agreement one that’s designed to meet the UK’s “future connectivity needs.” Virgin Media O2
Ericsson took a different tack with its announcement, describing the deal as a five-year extension to become Virgin Media O2’s main RAN supplier, covering most of the UK operator’s radio network. The Swedish company put the agreement’s value at several hundred million euros.
Nokia’s hunt for new AI-related network opportunities is in focus here. Back in March, Reuters said the Finnish company ramped up work with TIM Brasil and Deutsche Telekom, building on an earlier data-center agreement with Telefónica in Spain. Operators, for their part, are after networks built for heavier automation and increased cloud usage.
Nokia didn’t have the smoothest kickoff this year. Back in January, Reuters said the company’s comparable operating profit for the fourth quarter slipped 3% to 1.05 billion euros. Executives pinned hopes on AI and data-center growth to buffer flagging 5G equipment sales and some lost contracts.
Nokia is forecasting a 2026 comparable operating profit somewhere between 2.0 billion and 2.5 billion euros, while warning that first-quarter net sales are set to drop more than they typically would for this time of year. The company’s Q1 numbers land on April 23, marking the debut of its revamped segment structure, rolled out starting Jan. 1.
But there’s a wrinkle. Virgin Media O2 lumped the two vendor contracts together, totaling several hundred million pounds. Ericsson has already disclosed the value of its portion. Nokia, on the other hand, stayed quiet on numbers—leaving investors hanging until April’s results to learn whether this UK contract actually moves the earnings needle or just keeps Nokia in the mix at a major client.
Nokia still has a UK foothold. Reuters noted back in September that VodafoneThree tapped both Ericsson and Nokia for a 2 billion-pound 5G rollout stretching into the next decade. Ericsson leads the project, but Nokia’s back in the mix, supplying equipment for around 7,000 sites. That points to both Nordic companies staying at the heart of Britain’s upcoming 5G investment.
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