VodafoneThree awards the £2 billion Ericsson and Nokia network to broaden the UK network, redefining business in telecom and driving infrastructure development.

VodafoneThree has entered into a substantial $2.7 billion contract with Ericsson AB and Nokia Oyj to develop its mobile network in the UK. The acquisition is a major step in the telecom infrastructure business, especially in the slow European market.

Ericsson was able to win a somewhat bigger portion, and that is 10,000 sites and core network upgrades, and Nokia will provide radio access technology to 7,000 sites. The eight-year contract is a major victory for both Nordic companies since they become operators holding off expensive upgrades in the face of constrained business environments.

VodafoneThree, which was formed by merging Vodafone's UK operations with Three, owned by CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd., made a promise of £11 billion in network investments. It now has 28.8 million customers and is the largest carrier in Britain and this contract is the key to business expansion in the future.

The deal marginalizes Samsung Networks, which has not been able to make an impression in the equipment business. Nevertheless, Vodafone Group highlighted the presence of Samsung in its wider European deployment, especially OpenRAN programs.

According to industry analysts, this contract will consolidate the position of VodafoneThree and transform business approaches of equipment suppliers in Europe and Africa.