Nokia has won a major network expansion contract with 3, extending its exclusive supply of core network equipment to the mobile media firm.

Under the new agreement, Nokia will deploy its MSC Servers, Media Gateways and FlexiSN, as well as provide an upgrade to 3's core network equipment to 3GPP Release 4 functionality.

David Cooper, chief technology officer at 3 UK, said: "Providing our growing number of customers with high quality, state-of-the-art services requires an equally high quality modern network with capacity for growth.

"At the same time, it has to provide superior operational efficiency, even as the network expands and evolves toward all IP. The MSC Server solution fits the bill on all counts thanks to the Release 4 architecture and quality product design."

Jorg Erlemeier, general manager for networks at Nokia, added: "We are happy to be providing 3 with a high quality core network expansion that fully supports its high subscriber growth rate.

"The MSC Server Solution based on Release 4 meets 3's need for a future proof, cost effective network."