Nokia will deploy an optical transport network, dense wavelength division multiplexing backbone for China Mobile
Nokia has been awarded more than 30% of China Mobile’s project to construct a 100G optical network in support of its rollout of LTE-based mobile broadband services. The contract win is part of Nokia’s 2016 frame agreement with China Mobile.
Under terms of the contract, Nokia will deploy a 100G optical transport network and dense wavelength division multiplexing backbone, which it said will help China Mobile deploy services more rapidly and provide scalable capacity for cloud-based mobile services.
“This is a crucial win with our longstanding partner,” said Mike Wang, head of the joint management team of Nokia Networks China and Alcatel-Lucent Shanghai Bell.
China Mobile ended the first half of the year with 428.5 million LTE subscribers. The telco has recorded nearly 116 million LTE net additions this year. During the first half of 2016, China Mobile said it added more than 200,000 LTE base stations, increasing the total number to 1.32 million.
SK Telecom, Hana Financial Group create JV to promote financial tech services
In other APAC news, SK Telecom entered into a joint venture agreement with Hana Financial Group for the provisioning of financial services.
Under the agreement, SK Telecom will hold a 49% equity stake in the joint venture, with Hana Financial Group holding the remaining 51%. The company is set to develop and launch an integrated mobile financial services platform designed to offer mobile financial services including mobile payment, mobile remittance and mobile asset management through a single mobile application.
The service is scheduled to launch in the first half of 2017, and is said to also promote international partnerships in an effort to expand services to global markets.
