Nokia Corporation NOK recently signed a four-year deal with EOLO, an Italian telecommunications leader in Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) connectivity, to deploy Europe’s first 5G standalone mmWave Radio Access Network. This strategic partnership aims to expand connectivity across Italy, particularly in underserved areas, addressing the digital divide and the digital speed gap.

Digging Deep Into NOK-EOLO Deal

As part of the agreement, Nokia will deploy equipment from its state-of-the-art industry-leading 5G AirScale portfolio, comprising its next-generation AirScale baseband units and Massive Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) radios. This portfolio integrates Nokia’s energy-efficient ReefShark System-on-Chip technology to deliver faster speeds, lower latency and greater capacity that will likely help EOLO meet growing demands, while the Massive MIMO radio supports the diverse deployment and operational needs of mobile network operators.  

EOLO will also benefit from Nokia’s Shikra mmWave radios, which provide high 5G capacity and are especially effective in urban environments such as shopping malls, stadiums or high-density city areas. With their compact design and optimized performance features, including exceptional ultra-wide bandwidth and excellent coverage, these radios support various deployment scenarios and use cases, such as record-breaking uplink speeds, immersive VR experiences and high capacity with extended range. 

In addition to urban coverage, the Shikra mmWave solution will extend FWA services to rural and underserved regions with limited fixed-line options. The inclusion of the Nokia FastMile 5G mmWave outdoor receiver will further enhance connectivity, providing reliable, high-speed Internet services to homes in challenging deployment areas.

Does NOK Stand to Gain From the Deployment?

With the emergence of the smartphone market and subsequent usage of mobile broadband, user demand for coverage speed and quality has increased in recent times. Further, to maintain superior performance as traffic increases, there is also a continuous need for network tuning and optimization. The company’s expertise in mission-critical networks is well-established, with deployments across more than 2,600 leading enterprise customers in the transportation, energy, manufacturing, webscale and public sector segments worldwide.

These advancements will likely propel the stock with incremental revenue generation and inducement of similar deals from other carriers in the future. The deal is also expected to strengthen Nokia’s position as a leading telecommunications equipment provider in the region.

NOK’s Stock Price Performance

Shares of Nokia have gained 38.4% over the past year compared with the industry’s growth of 30.2%.

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NOK’s Zacks Rank and Key Picks

Nokia currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). 

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader industry have been discussed below.

Celestica Inc. CLS sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. The company provides competitive manufacturing technology and service solutions for printed circuit assembly and system assembly, as well as post-manufacturing support to many of the world's leading original equipment manufacturers. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

InterDigital, Inc. IDCC sports a Zacks Rank of 1 at present. It has a long-term growth expectation of 17.44%

IDCC is a pioneer in advanced mobile technologies that enable wireless communications and capabilities. The company designs and develops a wide range of advanced technology solutions used in digital cellular, wireless 3G, 4G and IEEE 802-related products and networks.

Ubiquiti Inc. UI sports a Zacks Rank #1 at present. In the last reported quarter, Ubiquiti delivered an earnings surprise of 20.9%. Its highly flexible global business model remains apt to adapt to the changing market dynamics to overcome challenges while maximizing growth.  

The company’s effective management of its strong global network of more than 100 distributors and master resellers improved UI’s visibility for future demand and inventory management techniques.

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