Nokia, IIiad Group extend partnership to roll out 5G across France, Italy

With 17 million subscribers across France and Italy, the IIiad Group's extended partnership will help the French mobile operator focus on network modernization and 5G introduction across both countries.

Finnish telecom company Nokia announced Friday its collaboration with French telecom giant IIiad Group to roll out 5G, the next-generation cellular networks across France and Italy.

Notably, this is not the first time that the telecom giants have teamed up to roll-out cellular networks. Nokia has previously worked closely with IIiad Group in France since 2012 and in Italy since 2018 on the rollout of both 3G and 4G networks.

We are delighted to extend our long-standing partnership with French mobile operator @GroupeIliad to roll out #5G networks across France and Italy, making 5G available to 17 million IIiad subscribers across both countries. https://t.co/lYwatDEIrf pic.twitter.com/9OchcYXiLm

— Nokia (@nokia) February 14, 2020

With 17 million subscribers across France and Italy, the IIiad Group's extended partnership will help the French mobile operator focus on network modernization and 5G introduction across both countries.

We want to offer our customers the best possible 5G experience and that is why we have chosen to strengthen and accelerate our relationship with Nokia as we enter the 5G era. Nokia’s innovative 5G technologies and solutions will enable us to launch quickly and efficiently, delivering a superior network performance whilst also securing us against future challenges.

Thomas Reynaud, IIiad Group’s CEO

In a press release on Friday, Nokia said that IIiad will deploy it’s latest radio access technology, AirScale, making efficient use of spectrum whilst supporting 4G/LTE and 5G in the same radio access system. The installation of 5G massive MIMO antennas will ensure Iliad subscribers can make the most of the ultra-low latency and high-bandwidth capabilities of 5G.

Commenting on the long-standing relationship with IIiad, Tommi Uitto, President of Mobile Networks at Nokia said that the partnership will help build out a world-class network for businesses and consumers alike.