Nokia has inked a deal with Xiaomi to deploy a fibre-optic network to link seven of its data centres in Beijing. The new network is claimed to reduce the bottlenecks in the Chinese conglomerate's data transport network by interconnecting its data centres and creating a 'private cloud'.

The fibre-optic network solution will be deployed to connect seven data centres in the Beijing area. Nokia in a statement added that the implementation would help Xiaomi offer higher-speed, lower-latency Internet services to its customers. The financial details of the deal are not known but Nokia is providing Xiaomi with its data centre interconnect (DCI) solution, based on the company's 1830 Photonic Service Switch (PSS) and managed by the Network Services Platform. The company has been providing similar solutions to large enterprises such as financial institutions, healthcare providers and 'webscale' companies.

Drazen Lukic, head of China IP and Optical Networks Business Group at Nokia, said in statement, "As large enterprises in China and around the world look to take advantage of the benefits of private cloud, Nokia's data center interconnect solution offers an ideal way of bringing together geographically distributed assets to form a single, high-performance cloud. This initiative is enabling Xiaomi to maximize network capacity, address fast-growing traffic demands and enjoy the flexibility of the cloud with the security, reliability and performance of a private network."

This project also highlights Nokia's earlier announced strategy to expand its customer base outside of the smartphone industry, and focus on network sales. Nokia sold its mobile business to Microsoft in 2014, and in late-2016, gave HMD Global the rights to make smartphones under its brand name. The company first launched the Nokia 150, then the Nokia 6 in January, and unveiled the Nokia 3310 (2017), Nokia 3, and Nokia 5 last night in Barcelona.