Nokia To Expand VoiceStream Network

The multiyear agreement will enable users to access the Internet from their mobile handsets, Nokia said Monday.

The Finnish telecommunications company will supply VoiceStream with equipment such as switching stations, radio networks and handsets. Deliveries are to begin immediately.

VoiceStream, based in Bellevue, Wash., is a member of the North American GSM Alliance which has mobile phone customers in 3,500 cities in the United States and Canada.

GSM, the most universal wireless standard used throughout Europe and many other parts of the world, is not used widely in the United States, creating problems for cross-Atlantic travelers who would like to bring their phones.

Nokia accounted for more than 30 percent of the 270 million handsets sold globally last year. It is a leader in digital mobile phone technology, and has supplied GSM equipment to some 80 operators in 40 countries.