Finnish telecoms vendor Nokia has signed a multi-year fiber agreement with AT&T.

The agreement will see Nokia deploy its fiber access technology for the US carrier, which has actively sought to build out its fiber network across the country in the last few years.

For the last 18 quarters, AT&T has added a net 200,000 fiber customers each quarter. At present, the telco serves more than 8.3 million fiber customers across the US.

Nokia will provide its Lightspan MF and Altiplano platforms to support the deployment of the fiber network.

The contract will run for five years, and will support future network expansions, noted Nokia.

Nokia's fiber solutions are designed to support next-generation PON technologies including 10/25/50/100Gbps, while its Lightspan platform aims to optimize AT&T's network to specific business cases and needs.

“Fiber plays a crucial role in providing the foundation for the services we offer to our customers," said Chris Sambar, head of network at AT&T.

"This expansion will not only enhance broadband access for millions of customers but also sets the stage for the next wave of digital innovation, including Industry 4.0, smart cities, IoT applications, and ultra-high-definition streaming."

In May of last year, AT&T and investment management company BlackRock formed Gigapower, LLC, a joint venture to provide fiber broadband services to Internet service providers and businesses across parts of the US.

The JV aims to ramp up AT&T's fiber broadband rollout, as the company attempts to pass 30 million-plus consumer and business locations in its traditional service areas by the end of 2025.