Nokia, the Finnish network equipment maker, and MEO, the Portuguese operator owned by Altice Portugal, announced on Monday 12 October that they are stepping up their collaboration through a joint innovation programme aimed at building “autonomous and AI-native” networks. The programme will develop and test artificial intelligence and automation use cases in real network environments, not only in the lab, according to a joint statement reported by Jornal Económico, with Lusa, and Executive Digest.
| Announced | 12 October 2026, joint statement by MEO and Nokia |
|---|---|
| Scope | AI in the design, operation, monitoring and optimisation of MEO’s networks; use cases tested on the live network |
| Stated goal | Networks that detect changes, anticipate needs and respond faster |
| Spokespeople | José Pedro Nascimento, CTO, MEO; John Harrington, SVP and head of Europe, Nokia |
| Not disclosed | Budget, duration, number of use cases, network regions or staff involved |
Sources: Jornal Económico/Lusa and Executive Digest, 12 October 2026.
What the programme covers
The statement says the initiative will “explore new ways of integrating AI into the design, operation, monitoring and optimisation of networks, making them progressively more intelligent, adaptable and autonomous” (NorthSouth HQ translation, as for all Portuguese quotations here). The aim is to develop and test concrete use cases that let the network detect changes, anticipate needs and respond more quickly and efficiently. MEO describes the programme as part of its AI and innovation strategy and of a long-term plan for “increasingly intelligent, resilient and autonomous” telecoms infrastructure. Executive Digest says the partnership pairs MEO’s operational know-how in AI with Nokia’s technology.
“Artificial intelligence is transforming the way communications networks are designed, operated and experienced,” said José Pedro Nascimento, MEO’s chief technology officer. He said the programme would help MEO build “smarter, more resilient and more efficient” infrastructure and contribute to “strengthening Portugal’s position in the digital economy”. John Harrington, Nokia’s senior vice-president and head of Europe, said the collaboration “demonstrates how AI can move from the experimental phase to concrete impact on communications networks”, with tangible benefits for network performance and the customer experience.
What was not said
The announcement is short on numbers. Neither company disclosed a budget, a timetable, how many use cases will be trialled, which parts of MEO’s fixed or mobile network are involved, or whether any of the work will be done at Nokia’s engineering campus in Portugal. Nor did the statement name specific Nokia products. Readers should treat it as a framework for joint testing rather than a new supply contract; any commercial roll-out that follows would be the more meaningful signal.
A supplier relationship shaped by the Huawei question
The programme builds on a relationship that changed markedly two years ago. In May 2024 Jornal Económico, citing Reuters, reported that Nokia was close to a contract to supply 5G radio equipment to MEO, whose 2G, 3G and 4G radio access network had until then been bought solely from Huawei. Tommi Uitto, at the time president of NokiaTommi Uitto, then president of Nokia’s mobile networks businessrsquo;s mobile networks business, wrote in an internal blog post quoted by Reuters that Nokia had been “selected to replace Huawei in some of the main markets in Portugal”. The background was a 2023 deliberation by Portugal’s Higher Council for Cyberspace Security that, as Jornal Económico reported, effectively excludes suppliers from outside the EU, the US and other OECD countries from Portuguese 5G networks.
Nokia’s footprint in Portugal
Nokia is one of the largest Nordic employers in Portugal, centred on its campus in Amadora, outside Lisbon. In November 2022 the company opened a research and development centre for 5G and 6G there, with 100 new jobs, ECO and Expresso reported at the time; in February 2021 Vida Imobiliária reported a €90 million investment in a new competence centre in the country. The Portuguese operation has not been immune to cuts: in February 2024 Observador reported a union’s claim that Nokia Portugal was proceeding with a collective dismissal. NorthSouth HQ covered Nokia’s second-quarter results in July, when AI and cloud customers were the group’s fastest-growing segment.
What to watch
Three things are worth following: whether MEO and Nokia publish results or named use cases from the live-network trials; whether the programme turns into a commercial automation contract, and whether Portuguese engineering teams take a visible role in it; and how Nokia’s competitors among MEO’s suppliers respond. For Nordic technology suppliers, the announcement is a reminder that Portuguese operators are willing to put European vendors’ AI tools into production networks. Other Finnish companies active in Portugal are listed in the NorthSouth HQ directory of Finnish companies in Portugal.