Press Release
Citymesh goes live with world’s first commercial mobile service on 5G Core SaaS, powered by Nokia and AWS
- SaaS model enables telecommunication providers to build and scale networks with reduced capital investment and operational complexity.
19 February 2026
Espoo, Finland – The world’s first commercial mobile service on 5G Core SaaS, powered by Nokia and Amazon Web Services (AWS), is now live with Belgium’s Citymesh, marking a new era in how telecommunications providers can choose to build and scale their networks.
The software-as-a-service model, which transforms core networks and their operations into flexible, subscription-based services, reduces the upfront capital investment and operational complexity of traditional network deployments. It delivers catalog-based service creation, on-demand network capabilities, and rapid feature deployment, with predictable cost control through subscription pricing and pay-as-you-grow infrastructure.
Citymesh is using Nokia’s Core SaaS for Business, running on AWS’s global cloud infrastructure, to serve enterprises across venues and events, airports, hospitals, offshore settlements, first responders, drone operators, and transportation sectors, and to power its new mobile offering for self-employed professionals and subject matter experts. The solution allows Citymesh to design intuitive, customized service plans without having to conduct extensive telecommunications engineering or ongoing integration work.
Running on AWS global cloud infrastructure provides the scalability to handle unpredictable demand spikes across diverse enterprise environments without requiring upfront infrastructure investments. The platform's multi-region architecture ensures telecommunications-grade availability, while comprehensive security controls meet stringent industry requirements.
“Launching the world’s first commercial 5G Core SaaS service is a major milestone for Citymesh. With Nokia’s Core SaaS on AWS, we can scale faster, reduce complexity and upfront investment, and deliver secure, high-performance connectivity tailored to our enterprise customers. And what’s more, it allows us to develop a telecom offering tailored for all businesses, including the self-employed and SMEs,” said Robin Leblon, Chief Technology Officer at Citymesh.
Nokia’s Core SaaS for Business delivers telecom-grade reliability with AWS security and performance across a comprehensive service catalog, including 4G and 5G Core, network slicing, IMS core, IoT services, automation, and security capabilities. Operators scale capacity on demand without managing hardware while exposing network capabilities through APIs (application programming interfaces).
“Telecom SaaS represents a paradigm shift in the telecommunications industry. Partnering with leaders like AWS helps us deliver cloud-native infrastructure that makes advanced connectivity simple and intuitive for providers, allowing them to subscribe to services only when needed and growing their spend with demand. This groundbreaking announcement by Citymesh proves that 5G Core SaaS has moved from concept to production-ready reality,” said Kal De, SVP, Product & Engineering, Core Software at Nokia.
“Nokia’s Core SaaS for Business exemplifies how telecommunications service providers can leverage AWS to transform their operations, delivering simplified deployment and lifecycle management. Running on AWS, Nokia enables telecommunications operators to launch and scale telecommunications services with the elasticity, reliability, security, and trust the industry demands, while dramatically reducing operational complexity. This collaboration shows how AWS’ Cloud is enabling telecommunications providers to innovate faster and respond more quickly to market opportunities,” said Fabio Cerone, Managing Director, EMEA Telco Business Unit at AWS.
Nokia’s Core SaaS for Business is available to telecommunication providers worldwide. Attendees at MWC Barcelona March 2-5 can learn more about Nokia’s core network technology by contacting their Nokia representative for private demonstrations at the Nokia booth (Hall 3, Stand 3B20).
Multimedia, technical information and related news
Product Page: Nokia's Core SaaS for Business
About Nokia
Nokia is a global leader in connectivity for the AI era. With expertise across fixed, mobile, and transport networks, we're advancing connectivity to secure a brighter world.
About Amazon Web Services
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is guided by customer obsession, pace of innovation, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. By democratizing technology for nearly two decades and making cloud computing and generative AI accessible to organizations of every size and industry, AWS has built one of the fastest-growing enterprise technology businesses in history. Millions of customers trust AWS to accelerate innovation, transform their businesses, and shape the future. With the most comprehensive AI capabilities and global infrastructure footprint, AWS empowers builders to turn big ideas into reality. Learn more at aws.amazon.com and follow @AWSNewsroom.
About Citymesh
Citymesh connects.
Citymesh is more than a telecom provider. We are a Belgian technology company that has been building innovative connectivity solutions for businesses since 2006. We connect emergency services with drones, events with our flexible networks, and entrepreneurs with reliable technology.
With expertise in WiFi, IoT, 4G, and 5G, we create smart and high-performance networks for businesses of all sizes, active in sectors such as industry, logistics, education, healthcare, and smart cities.
In addition, Citymesh is Belgium’s fourth official telecom operator. The years of experience we gained in business connectivity are now fully applied to mobile and internet solutions tailored for entrepreneurs, offering a reliable network, strong service, and competitive prices. We believe connectivity should be simple and accessible for every entrepreneur, with solutions that truly meet their needs.
Every day, more than 300 Citymesh employees strive to make a difference. With Citymesh Connect, we provide mobile and internet services specifically for entrepreneurs: reliable, well-supported, and fairly priced.
Media inquiries
Nokia Press Office
Email: Press.Services@nokia.com
Follow us on social media
LinkedIn X Instagram Facebook YouTube
