Nokia signed a one-year deal with China Mobile to supply infrastructure and services to support the operator’s network transition plans.

Valued at €1 billion, the deal will see Nokia supply kit covering mobile, fixed, IP routing, optical transport and customer experience management software, the companies said. It builds on an existing, long-term relationship between the two.

A joint statement added the deal would support China Mobile’s transition to a “future oriented network infrastructure”.

These large awards are becoming a regular deal for Nokia. Two years ago a similar contract was announced, building on a relationship that goes all the way back to 1994.

The announcement also comes days after the two unveiled a plan to open a 5G AI lab in Hangzhou, China with the aim of developing and verifying use cases for the next-generation technology, including those related to artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies.

Earlier in July, Nokia signed a similar deal to work on next generation technologies in China with internet and app services provider Tencent.