October 14, 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
HALIFAX, NS - Eastlink announced today that the company has completed a multi-million dollar, state-of-the-art core mobile network transformation using Nokia 5G Standalone Core Technology and is committing another $12M to further network modernization including the addition of new sites across Atlantic Canada.
“Since we launched our mobile service in 2013, we’ve worked hard to build and continuously strengthen a world-class network,” said Jeff Gillham, CEO Eastlink. “This latest advancement, in partnership with Nokia, a global leader in critical network connectivity, not only meets today’s increasing demand for capacity but it also positions us well for future growth. It reflects our ongoing commitment to deliver the best possible mobile experience with connectivity our customers rely on today and for years to come.”
"A modern, cloud-native core network is critical to delivering the performance, resilience and flexibility that operators need as mobile services continue to evolve,” said Kal De, senior vice president, Core Networks, Nokia. “Eastlink's deployment of Nokia's 5G Standalone Core accelerates its ability to scale, introduce new capabilities and deliver a consistently high-quality customer experience.”
“This transformative core network deployment enables next generation capabilities ensuring the long-term reliability of our network by strengthening network performance and scalability. It lays the foundation for future innovation while supporting the advanced services our customers need and expect,” said Steve Irvine, VP Engineering and CTO Eastlink.
Over the past year, Eastlink has invested $30M in the expansion and modernization of its mobile services.
“Our ongoing investments in radio network modernization and expansion includes new tower builds in more rural areas like East LaHave and New Germany in Nova Scotia, and Cornwall and New Glasgow in PEI, to name a few as well as additional in-building and rooftop sites, and small cell installations,” explained Mr. Irvine. “Together, these investments are delivering faster and more reliable connectivity, reduced dropped calls, and broadened coverage - performance capabilities our customers count on every day.”
Eastlink has invested more than $600M in building, maintaining and upgrading its mobile network, systems and services across its Canadian footprint. Today, the company’s network includes a total of over 1200 sites including standalone towers, colocations, rooftop and in-building sites, and small cell deployments with an additional 180 new sites in progress.
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About Nokia
Nokia is a global leader in connectivity infrastructure, enabling the AI supercycle. We build networks that connect intelligence and deliver a comprehensive connectivity solution across fixed, mobile, IP, optical, core, and data center networks. With security by design, AI-driven innovation, and AI-optimized architecture, Nokia delivers trusted infrastructure that enables AI to scale and advances connectivity to secure a brighter world.
Eastlink is a proud Canadian, family-owned technology and communications company. Powered by state-of-the-art fibre optic and mobile networks and driven by its core spirit of entrepreneurialism, Eastlink delivers world-class communications services, including high speed internet, mobile, TV, phone, and data services to residential to business and public sector customers in seven provinces across Canada and Bermuda. Recognized as one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies, Eastlink shares local and regional stories on Community TV about the people, places and events that shape the communities it serves.
