KDDI inked deals with Ericsson, Nokia, and Samsung to supply equipment for its 5G network. Japan’s second largest mobile network operator plans to begin deploying 5G services in March 2020 in the run-up to the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Ericsson will supply KDDI with radio access network (RAN) equipment and software to enable the operator to deploy 5G New Radio in  “several parts of Japan” on it sub-5GHz and 28Ghz bands. The companies have been working together since 2013 and began collaborating on 5G opportunities in late 2015, according to the Swedish vendor.

Nokia, which has been working with KDDI for more than two decades, will supply KDDI with its AirScale RAN equipment that supports 4G and 5G. The Finnish vendor says it already provides the operator with multiple technologies for fixed networks, the mobile core, and other software.

The deal with KDDI marks the 48th global 5G commercial contract for Nokia, including some networks that are already live in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Korea, and Australia. Nokia also claims that all of its 4G LTE customers that have announced 5G plans to date have continued to work with the vendor as they upgrade to 5G.

Samsung will provide KDDI with various RAN equipment, including virtualized RAN, to support the operator’s 5G network on mid-band and millimeter-wave spectrum, according to a spokesperson for the vendor.

While Japan enjoyed an early lead in deploying previous generations of wireless network technology, the country has fallen behind as operators in the United States, South Korea, and elsewhere have already launched limited 5G services. In April, Japan’s regulatory agency assigned spectrum to the nation’s three major incumbent operators and Rakuten, which is evolving from an e-commerce juggernaut to a new entrant in wireless telecom.

NTT DoCoMo, KDDI, SoftBank, and Rakuten have all committed to build nationwide 5G networks by 2022, but initial commercial services are slated to go live beginning next year. Japan’s regulators have also effectively banned Chinese vendors Huawei and ZTE from the country’s 5G networks. SoftBank, which selected Ericsson and Nokia as its 5G vendors in May, is in the process of replacing Huawei equipment used in its 4G LTE network.

The four operators are set to invest a combined $14.4 billion in their networks during the next five years, according to a report earlier this year from Japan’s Nikkei news service. NTT DoCoMo will lead the way with $7.1 billion in investments, followed by KDDI’s pledge of $4.16 billion in investments, SoftBank’s $1.84 billion in investments, and Rakuten’s planned $1.73 billion in spending.