- Private network security startup OneLayer signs a utility partnership with Nokia
- The startup has already told Fierce that utilities are one of its biggest customer bases
- OneLayer has already signed private network and integration deals with Ericsson, Nokia and Palo Alto Networks
Private network security startup OneLayer has signed partnership with private cellular leader Nokia to secure the adoption of private 5G/LTE networks for utilities.
The deal is a big win for the startup, since Nokia is the leading supplier of private networks in the Western world, according to Dell’Oro Group. SNS Telecom & IT noted that Nokia had 960 private wireless deployments as of the third quarter of 2025.
The collaboration will combine Nokia’s private network infrastructure with OneLayer’s zero-trust operational technology (OT) asset management platform, which the partners hope will help utilities modernize their grids with more visibility, stronger cyber protection, and simpler device management.
OneLayer already has a similar partnership in place with Nokia's rival Ericsson. Nokia is competing heavily with Ericsson in the utilities space, and recently signed a deal with Memphis Light, Gas and Water (MLGW) to build a comprehensive private 5G network for the utility.
OneLayer
In addition to the partnerships with Ericsson and Nokia, OneLayer has an integration deal with Palo Alto Networks.
OneLayer has scored $43 million in funding to date and has 30 private network customers, according to SNS Telecom & IT.
Drew Ganther, VP of sales at the startup said to Fierce in June this year that OneLayer has already scored with utility customers – like water utilities – who are the biggest vertical for the company, spending the most and deploying the largest networks. “These are [often] statewide networks and they’re...primarily all LTE,” Ganther said.
Indeed, Nokia may have been interested in what the startup could do in the utility space because that is one of its key customer areas.