Nokia Corporation (NOK) just locked down a significant win in Italy. The Finnish telecom equipment maker secured a three-year agreement with Telecom Italia S.p.A. (TIIAY) to modernize and expand 5G coverage across the country, extending Nokia's presence in one of Europe's key telecommunications markets.

The partnership emerged from a competitive tender process, and it's bringing Nokia's latest hardware to regions beyond Italy's major cities. We're talking AirScale equipment, Massive MIMO radios, and multi-band remote radio heads—the kind of gear that helps telecom operators deliver faster speeds and more reliable connections to areas that have historically been underserved.

For Telecom Italia, this deal supports a broader strategy to close connectivity gaps and bring high-speed internet access to communities that aren't Rome or Milan. The operator is integrating Nokia's updated baseband systems, which run on the company's ReefShark technology. The promise here is better energy efficiency and higher network capacity, two things that matter a lot when you're trying to scale infrastructure without blowing up your operating costs.

There's also an AI angle. Telecom Italia will expand its use of Nokia's MantaRay SON platform, which uses AI-driven analytics to automatically optimize network performance. The idea is to maintain consistent service quality across different environments—urban, suburban, rural—without requiring constant manual adjustments.

Telecom Italia CEO Pietro Labriola framed the collaboration as essential to building the kind of advanced digital infrastructure that supports Italy's economic development. Meanwhile, Nokia President and CEO Justin Hotard emphasized that the upgraded network will enable Telecom Italia to roll out AI-enabled services and sharpen its competitive edge in key commercial segments.

This deal arrives as Nokia continues refining its European market strategy. The company recently announced plans to delist from the Paris Stock Exchange, a move aimed at simplifying its trading footprint and focusing resources on core markets.

Price Action: NOK shares were trading higher by 0.15% to $6.74 in premarket action Monday.