Nokia secured another major win as Zayo enlisted the Nordic vendor to support upgrades of its IP network architecture.

The now Nvidia-backed firm secured the rights to support Zayo’s upgrade efforts as the fiber provider continues to build out its already sizable network.

Nokia’s high-performance IP routers, including the 7750 Service Router and the 7250 Interconnect Router (IXR), are set to be brought in to provide faster speeds and more secure links.

An initial deployment is already underway in New York and New Jersey, with further efforts planned across “dozens of additional markets and thousands of lit buildings.”

“The ability to rapidly light up new buildings and markets on our IP network allows us to more quickly respond to customer demand faster, which is increasingly important in today’s fast-evolving market,” Aaron Werley, SVP for engineering at Zayo, explained. “Nokia’s solution delivers the reliability, performance, and agility we need to meet the growing needs of our customers, from cloud providers and data centers to schools and enterprises."

Zayo is among a growing cohort of fiber providers looking to take advantage of the AI boom and subsequent demand for connectivity. The company counts an existing 147,000-route mile footprint, and is in the processes of building out 5,000 fiber route miles and integrating an additional 90,000 miles through its $4.5 billion acquisition of Crown Castle’s fiber assets.

“With our FP5-based platforms and deep expertise in IP networks, we’re enabling Zayo to deploy services faster, simplify operations, and lead the market with flexible, future-ready infrastructure,” said Jeff Valley, VP for IP networks for CSPs at Nokia.

Nokia’s Zayo deal is the latest in a growing number of deployment wins for the Finnish firm.

Recent agreements have seen the vendor support deployments, including a railway communications network for Bangkok’s urban rail system, radio access network (RAN) systems in Europe and Africa for Vodafone, and networking technologies for Nscale, the neocloud at the heart of OpenAI’s Stargate buildout in Europe.

Nokia's network push looks set to continue thanks to its newly minted backing from Nvidia. Announced at GTC this week, the chip giant made a $1 billion equity investment in Nokia, becoming a 2.9% shareholder of the firm.