Ericsson wins £1bn VodafoneThree deal to power majority of next-gen UK network

Ericsson has landed a £1bn deal to deliver most of VodafoneThree’s next-gen UK mobile network.

The agreement is said to be one of Europe’s largest network consolidation projects following Vodafone and Three’s planned merger. Ericsson will be VodafoneThree’s sole UK core network vendor and supply a significant proportion of its upgraded radio network.

Ericsson will deploy its 5G Standalone (5G SA) technology, providing hardware, software and services across radio and core infrastructure. The company’s 5G Core and dual-mode technology will handle capacity for rising data demand and enable  AI, automation and extended reality.

Ericsson’s connectivity will cover London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast as well as major cities including Bristol, Brighton, Bournemouth, Portsmouth and Southampton. The first deployments are expected to begin shortly, with VodafoneThree targeting 99.95 per cent 5G SA population coverage across the UK by 2034.

Börje Ekholm, President and CEO, Ericsson, says: “Trusted high-performing programmable networks are critical to the digital economy. AI, automation and virtual/augmented won’t reach their potential without them. We are proud to partner with VodafoneThree as their primary vendor to power them with the most advanced programmable network products, software, and solutions in the world.”

Max Taylor, CEO, VodafoneThree, said: “Ericsson bring the scale and expertise needed to accelerate the delivery of a resilient, secure, world-class and future-ready network, and together, we are laying the foundations for the UK’s digital future.” 

VodafoneThree has around 29 million mobile customers and said the partnership would “accelerate the delivery of a resilient and future-ready network”.

Ericsson currently powers 187 live 5G networks across 78 countries, including 42 of the 70 commercially launched 5G Standalone networks worldwide.