Orange Poland extended by ten years its existing mobile network contract with Nokia, which is a key mobile infrastructure supplier to the operator group in France and other European markets.

The Finnish vendor announced that the “improved” deal with the group’s Polish unit covers upgrades to the existing radio access network and new 5G services. Nokia noted that the contract now runs until 2036 and will cover 50 per cent of Orange’s network in northern Poland.

Notably, the vendor will help phase out Orange’s 3G network and support the reallocation of spectrum to its 4G network. Orange aims to phase out 2G and 3G networks across its footprint between 2025 and 2030.

Furthermore, Nokia is supplying equipment that will support C-Band spectrum between 3.4 GHz and 3.8 GHz, when it is made available in Poland. The planned sale of C-band spectrum in Poland has been postponed multiple times.

Orange Poland, like other countries within the Orange Group, is rolling out standalone (SA) 5G in partnership with Ericsson.

In February, Orange split contracts to supply 5G SA core networks in six of its European operations between Nokia and Ericsson, with the Swedish vendor winning four deals including Belgium Luxembourg, Poland and Spain, and the Finnish provider getting the nod in the operator’s home market of France.