Dish Network has chosen Nokia for its 5G core network software as the satellite company rolls out its wireless network.

Dish Network has been working to expand beyond its core satellite business to become a major wireless carrier. The company received a major boost due to the T-Mobile/Sprint merger. In order to assuage concerns from regulators, T-Mobile agreed to sell spectrum to Dish Network, and provide the company with several years of access to T-Mobile’s network. The goal was to create a fourth major carrier, essentially replacing the ailing Sprint post-merger.

It appears Dish is moving full-steam-ahead in its efforts to roll out its network, and has tapped Nokia to provide the software for its standalone 5G network. The software will handle device management, subscriber data management, integration services, packet core, voice and core. Nokia’s software will also provide standalone 4G and 5G, as well as voice over WiFi access.

“This is an important step in bringing to life DISH’s plans to deliver the first open, agile, virtualized 5G network in the U.S.,” said Marc Rouanne, DISH Chief Network Officer. “Nokia’s new release is cloud-native, standalone and ready for full automation, providing DISH the software capabilities required to deliver thousands of network slices with low latency and SLA on demand.”

“The benefits of Nokia’s industry-leading, cloud-native standalone 5G Core products built on our proven Common Software Foundation — near-zero-touch automation capabilities, high-level operational efficiencies, scale and performance – continue to set us apart from the competition,” said Bhaskar Gorti, President of Nokia Software and Nokia Chief Digital Officer. “DISH has great ambition and we are both excited and laser-focused on helping them deliver on that.”