Telefónica selected Nokia to deploy its networking solutions to back new Edge data center networks across Spain, marking another step in Telefónica’s next-generation digital infrastructure journey.

Nokia’s data center networking solutions will be implemented in its new Edge nodes, providing AI, B2B, and telco cloud services to residential, enterprise, and public sector users.

The Edge nodes act as servers for data processing, analysis, and storage – functions that can be performed as close to that data (on the Edge) as possible, unlike traditional data centers or cloud computing.

As part of this multi-year agreement, Nokia will be responsible for deploying networking solutions to support 17 new Edge nodes, 12 of which have already been deployed, including at Telefónica’s flagship Tecno-Alcalá site – one of the largest data centers in the world.

Sergio Sánchez, chief technology and information officer at Telefónica Spain, said: “This initiative fully aligns with our strategy to make Edge cloud and AI the main cornerstones of Telefónica’s growth.

“Nokia has proven to be a trusted connectivity partner in this mission, and [it is] playing a critical role in building secure, reliable data center networks for our ambitious Edge node project.”

Telefonica’s new Edge node project is also poised to power essential digital services in healthcare, education, industry, and government, providing connectivity for compute and storage inside the Edge nodes, and will also connect those nodes to the outside world.

While reinforcing Spain’s position as a leader in advanced digital infrastructure in Europe, Telefonica’s latest Edge node project is also a part of the company’s commitment to data sovereignty and technological innovation.

The project aligns with the European roadmap for the development of the next-generation cloud-Edge offering, designed to help European Union users benefit from Edge-based application services and standards.

This latest deployment follows a successful initial Nokia rollout of three pilot Edge data centers in 2024, with the single-vendor model expected to simplify operations, unify architecture, and increase efficiency across the project.

In its latest financials, the first since its landmark Nvidia deal and restructuring into two primary operating segments, Nokia disclosed a comparable operating profit of $1.2 billion (€1.058bn) for the quarter, representing a drop of three percent year-on-year (YoY).

As of this year, Nokia turned a new page, operating under the two umbrellas of Network Infrastructure and Mobile Infrastructure. The change, announced in November, was part of a company restructure to help Nokia reach $3.2bn in profitability by 2028.

Telefónica’a German arm, O2 Telefónica, also announced a Nvidia collaboration recently, by launching an agentic AI solution in partnership with Nvidia and Tech Mahindra.

Based on a custom telecom large language model (LLM) developed by Tech Mahindra, O2 Telefónica’s large telco model (LTM) offering aims to apply AI to telecom operations.

According to the operator, this includes AI agents tailored for automated root-cause analysis, field dispatch optimization, and service experience management.

With Tech Mahindra’s tool as its basis, O2 Telefónica’s LTM aims to put into practice the model’s push for telecom networks into intent-based and autonomous operations, processing large volumes of structured and unstructured data alongside relevant network information.