Nokia signs up Google for building cloud-based 5G network

(Reuters) - Nokia on Thursday partnered with Alphabet's Google Cloud unit to build 5G core network infrastructure and allow business customers to offer services such as smart retail and automated manufacturing.

Cloud computing units of big technology companies such as Microsoft and Amazon are also tying up with telecoms vendors ahead of deployment of 5G infrastructure to corner a share in new businesses the new technology might enable.

While Nokia will bring its 5G expertise, Google Cloud will serve as the platform for launching applications and assist customers in building an ecosystem of services.

"We will start to see some of these things to get in the live environment by end of this year," Amol Phadke, Managing Director at Google Cloud told Reuters.

He added that the timeline for the availability of the services would depend on telecom operators.

(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)