Nokia chosen by United Group to upgrade core networks in Bulgaria, Croatia and Slovenia

11 August 2021

Espoo, Finland – Nokia today announced that it has been chosen by United Group to deliver its cloud-native core network products in Bulgaria, Croatia and Slovenia, making Nokia the sole core vendor for the Group in those countries and further expanding the business relationship between the two companies.

Nokia will provide a host of products, including Subscriber Data Management (SDM) software to securely and reliably control UG network data and integrate multi-vendor and multi-technology environments. Nokia’s SDM solution serves approximately 4.8 billion subscribers and devices around the world.

Nokia’s core products, including Cloud Packet Core, Voice Core, 3G Core and Cloud Infrastructure, will give United Group’s operators the speed, intelligence and security to deliver 5G services, like network slicing, while cost-effectively managing the operator’s network with near zero-touch automation and adherence to Service Level Agreements.

The core deployments will be rolled out initially for the Group’s 3G and 4G networks on the cloud, via Nokia’s cloud infrastructure, starting by the third quarter of this year. United Group will then roll out 5G non-standalone and standalone services.  

Nokia leads the market in core network deployments, with 25 of the top 40 communication service providers relying on its core network products.

Earlier this year, Nokia announced that it will deploy a fiber network and in-home mesh Wi-Fi solution across the eight countries where United Group operates.

Željko Batistić, Chief Technology Officer, United Group, said: “The surge in connected devices and all the demands that mobile users have today require a powerful wireless network that can transfer large volumes of data fast, securely and with very low latency. With Nokia’s support we are building Southeast Europe’s best mobile network, one focused on quality, performance, and product innovation. The investments we are making – in both mobile and fixed – will guarantee that United Group’s users always have access to the very best our industry has to offer.”

Mikko Lavanti, Vice President, Head of Central Europe & Central Asia, Nokia, said: “Nokia is delighted to further support United Group’s strong market position in Southeast Europe. Nokia’s market leading core portfolio continues to demonstrate its breadth, reliability and innovation using true cloud capabilities and centralized or distributed deployment. We look forward to delivering UG and its customers superior network performance and scale.”