This article is about the Finnish telecommunications corporation. For the town in Finland, seeNokia, Finland. For other uses, seeNokia (disambiguation).
The company has operated in various industries over the past 150 years. It was founded as apulp mill and had long been associated withrubber andcables, but since the 1990s has focused on large-scaletelecommunications infrastructure, technology development, and licensing.[12] Nokia made significant contributions to themobile telephony industry, assisting in the development of theGSM,3G, andLTE standards. For a decade beginning in 1998, Nokia was the largest worldwide vendor ofmobile phones andsmartphones. In the later 2000s, however, Nokia suffered from a series of poor management decisions and soon saw its share of the mobile phone market drop sharply.
After a partnership withMicrosoft and Nokia's subsequent market struggles,[13][14][15] in 2014, Microsoft bought Nokia's mobile phone business,[16][17] incorporating it asMicrosoft Mobile.[18] After the sale, Nokia began to focus more on its telecommunications infrastructure business and onInternet of things technologies, marked by the divestiture of itsHere mapping division and the acquisition ofAlcatel-Lucent, including itsBell Labs research organization.[19] The company then also experimented withvirtual reality anddigital health, the latter through the purchase ofWithings.[20][21][22][23] The Nokia brand returned to the mobile and smartphone market in 2016 through a licensing arrangement withHMD.[24] Nokia continues to be a majorpatent licensor for most large mobile phone vendors.[25] As of 2018,[update] Nokia is the world's third-largest network equipment manufacturer.[26]
Nokia's history dates from 1865, when mining engineerFredrik Idestam established apulp mill on the shores of theTammerkoski rapids near the town ofTampere, Finland (then aGrand Duchy underRussian Empire's rule).[6] A second pulp mill was opened in 1868 near the neighboringtown of Nokia, where there were betterhydropower resources.[6] In 1871, Idestam, together with a friendLeo Mechelin, formed a shared company and called itNokiaAb (inSwedish,Nokia Company being the English equivalent), after the site of the second pulp mill.
Idestam retired in 1896, making Mechelin the company's chairman; he expanded intoelectricity generation by 1902, which Idestam had opposed. In 1904,Suomen Gummitehdas (Finnish Rubber Works), arubber business founded byEduard Polón, established a factory near the town of Nokia and used its name.
In 1922, in the now independent Finland, Nokia Ab entered into a partnership with the Finnish Rubber Works andKaapelitehdas (the Cable Factory), all now jointly under the leadership of Polón. The rubber company grew rapidly when it moved to the Nokia region in the 1930s to take advantage of the electricity supply, and the cable company soon did too.
Nokia at the time also maderespirators for both civilian and military use, from the 1930s well into the early 1990s.[30]
LV 317M military radio in the Hämeenlinna artillery museumNokian rubber boots
In 1967, the three companies – Nokia, Kaapelitehdas, andFinnish Rubber Works – merged to create a new Nokia Corporation, restructured into four major businesses: forestry, cable, rubber, and electronics. In the early 1970s, it entered the networking and radio industries. Nokia started making military equipment forFinland's defence forces (Puolustusvoimat), such as theSanomalaite M/90 communicator in 1983, and theM61 gas mask first developed in the 1960s. Nokia was now also makingprofessional mobile radios,telephone switches,capacitors andchemicals.
After Finland's trade agreement with theSoviet Union in the 1960s, Nokia expanded into the Soviet market. It soon widened trade, ranging from automatictelephone exchanges torobotics among others; by the late 1970s, the Soviet Union became a major market for Nokia, yielding high profits. The U.S. government became increasingly concerned of the possible export of items it deemed as high technology, such as digital telephone exchanges, to the Soviet Union in the 1980s. This led to Finland entering theCoordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls in 1987.[31] This was a demonstration of Finland balancing between both sides, as it was neutral during the Cold War.
In 1977,Kari Kairamo became CEO and transformed the company's businesses. By this time, Finland was becoming what has been called "Nordic Japan".[by whom?] Under his leadership, Nokia acquired many companies, including television makerSalora in 1984, followed by Swedish electronics and computer makerLuxor AB in 1985, and French television maker Oceanic in 1987. This made Nokia the third-largest television manufacturer of Europe (behindPhilips andThomson). The existing brands continued to be used until the end of the television business in 1996.
Nokia Mikko 3 minicomputer, 1978Mobira Cityman 450, 1985
In 1987, Nokia acquired Schaub-Lorenz, the consumer operations of Germany'sStandard Elektrik Lorenz (SEL), which included its "Schaub-Lorenz" and "Graetz" brands. It was originally part of American conglomerateInternational Telephone & Telegraph (ITT), and after the acquisition products were sold under the "ITT Nokia" brand, despite SEL's sale to Compagnie Générale d'Electricité (CGE), the predecessor ofAlcatel, in 1986.
In 1987,Kaapelitehdas discontinued production of cables at itsHelsinki factory after 44 years, effectively shutting down the sub-company.
On 1 April 1988, Nokia bought the Information Systems division ofEricsson,[32] which had originated as theDatasaab computer division of Swedish aircraft and car manufacturerSaab. Ericsson Information Systems madeAlfaskop terminals,typewriters,minicomputers and Ericsson-brandedIBM compatible PCs. The merger with Nokia's Information Systems division—which since 1981 had a line of personal computers calledMikroMikko—resulted in the name Nokia Data.
Various Mobira phones on display in a museum in Helsinki, Finland. The Mobira Senator (first from the left), was one of the first phones compatible with the NMT-network. It weighed around 9.8 kg (22 lb).
Nokia also acquired Mobira, amobile radio telephone manufacturer that had been established in ajoint venture withSalora Oy in 1979, which became the foundation of its future mobile phone business. In 1981, Mobira launched theNordic Mobile Telephone (NMT) service, the world's first international cellular network and the first to allow internationalroaming. In 1982, Mobira launched theMobira Senator car phone, Nokia's first mobile phone. At that time, the company had no interest in producing mobile phones, which the executive board regarded as akin toJames Bond's gadgets: improbably futuristic and niche devices. After all these acquisitions, Nokia's revenue base became US$2.7 billion.
CEO Kairamo killed himself on 11 December 1988.
Mobira 800-NDB non-directional beacon located in the Finnish Air Force signals museum
Nokia MAC 8532 laser rangefinder previously used by Finnish coastal artillery
Hämeenlinna artillery museum display containing fire control officer with Nokia artillery calculator in Finnish artillery battalion command post
Late 1980s MikroMikko 4 TT m216 desktop computer in the Museum of Technology, Helsinki, Finland
ITT Nokia television with an ITT Nokia VCR (ITT/SEL)
Jorma Ollila, who oversaw the rise of Nokia in the mobile phone market as CEO from 1992 to 2006Nokia 2112 NHE-4AX phone
FollowingSimo Vuorilehto's appointment as CEO, a major restructuring was planned. With 11 groups within the company, Vuorilehto divested industrial units he deemed as un-strategic.Nokian Tyres (Nokian Renkaat), a tyre producer originally formed as a division of Finnish Rubber Works in 1932, split away from Nokia Corporation in 1988. Two years later, in 1990, Finnish Rubber Works followed suit. In 1991, Nokia sold its computer division, Nokia Data, toUK-basedInternational Computers Limited (ICL), the precursor ofFujitsu Siemens. Investors thought of this as financial trouble and Nokia's stock price sank as a result. Finland was now also experiencing itsworst recession in living memory, and thecollapse of the Soviet Union, a major customer, made matters worse.
Vuorilehto quit in January 1992 and was replaced byJorma Ollila, who had been the head of the mobile phone business from 1990 and advised against selling that division. Ollila decided to turn Nokia into a "telecom-oriented" company, and he eventually got rid of divisions like the power business. This strategy proved to be very successful, and the company grew rapidly in the following years. Nokia's operating profit went from negative in 1991 to $1 billion in 1995 and almost $4 billion by 1999.[33]
Nokia's first fully portable mobile phone after the Mobira Senator was theMobira Cityman 900 in 1987. Nokia assisted in the development of theGSM mobile standard in the 1980s and developed the first GSM network withSiemens, the predecessor toNokia Siemens Network. The world's first GSM call was made by Finnish prime ministerHarri Holkeri on 1 July 1991, using Nokia equipment on the 900 MHz band network built by Nokia and operated byRadiolinja. In November 1992, theNokia 1011 launched, making it the first commercially available GSM mobile phone.[34]
Salora Oy as a Nokia subsidiary ended in 1989 when the division was merged into Nokia-Mobira Oy. The brand continued to be used for televisions until 1995.
On 12 June 1996, Nokia announced the sale of itstelevision business to Canada/Hong Kong-basedSemi-Tech Corporation.[35] The television manufacturing plant in Germany closed down in September 1996. The sale included a factory inTurku and the rights to use the Nokia,Finlux,Luxor,Salora,Schaub-Lorenz, and Oceanic brands until the end of 1999.[36] Some of these brands were later sold to other companies.
Nokia was the first to launchdigital satellite receivers in the UK, announced in March 1997.[37] In August 1997, Nokia introduced the first digital satellite receiver withCommon Interface (CI) support.[38] In 1998, Nokia became the chosen supplier to produce the world's firstdigital terrestrial television set-top boxes by British Digital Broadcasting (BDB), which was eventually launched asONdigital.[39]
A Nokia Mediamaster set-top box
In October 1998, Nokia overtookMotorola to become the best-selling mobile phone brand[40] and in December, manufactured its 100 millionth mobile phone.[41] A major reason why Nokia grew against its main competitors Motorola andEricsson was that it managed to cater to the consumer youth market and fashion-oriented consumers, most significantly with theNokia 5110 and3210 handsets, which featured a large range of colourful and replaceable back covers called Xpress-on.[42][43] One of the earliest fashion phones in 1992, from Swiss watchmakerSwatch, was based on Nokia's101 handset.[44] The company would also form theVertu division, creating luxury mobile handsets.
In April 1996, Nokia claimed its 447Xav and 447K monitors to be the first withstereo speakers and asubwoofer.[45] In May 1999, Nokia introduced their firstwireless LAN products.[46] In January 2000,ViewSonic acquired Nokia Display Products, the division makingdisplays for personal computers.[47] On 26 April 2001, Nokia partnered withTelefónica to supplyDSL modems and routers in Spain.[48]
In 1997, Nokia established ajoint venture with Brazilian electronics firmGradient where they were granted the license to manufacture variants of Nokia mobile phones locally under the Nokia and Gradient brand names.[49]
In 1998, Nokia cofoundedSymbian Ltd., led byPsion, to create a new operating system forPDAs and smart mobile phones as a successor ofEPOC32. They released theNokia 9210 Communicator runningSymbian OS in 2001 and later that year created the SymbianSeries 60 platform, later introducing it with their firstcamera phone, theNokia 7650. Both Nokia and Symbian eventually became the largestsmartphone hardware and software maker, respectively, and in February 2004, Nokia became the largest shareholder of Symbian Ltd.[50] Nokia acquired the entire company in June 2008 and then formed theSymbian Foundation as its successor.[51]
In 1998 alone, the company had sales revenue of $20 billion, making $2.6 billion profit. By 2000, Nokia employed over 55,000 people[52] and had a market share of 30% in the mobile phone market, almost twice as large as its nearest competitor,Motorola.[53] The company was operating in 140 countries as of 1999. It was reported at the time that some people believed Nokia to be aJapanese company.[54] Between 1996 and 2001, Nokia'sturnover increased fivefold, from €6.5 billion to €31 billion.[55] Meanwhile, aReader's Digest survey held near end 2000 showed that Nokia was the "most trusted brand in Europe", ranking better than Sony, Canon, and Nivea.[56]
The company would then be known as a successful and innovative maker ofcamera phones. TheNokia 3600/3650 was the first camera phone on sale in North America in 2003. In April 2005, Nokia partnered with German camera optics makerCarl Zeiss AG.[57] That same month, Nokia introduced theNseries, which would become its flagship line of smartphones for the next six years.[58] TheNokia N95 was introduced in September 2006, became highly successful, and was also awarded "best mobile imaging device" in Europe in 2007.[59] Its successor theN82 featured axenon flash,[60] which helped it win the award of "best mobile imaging" device in Europe in 2008.[61] TheN93 in 2006 was known for its specializedcamcorder and the twistable design that switches betweenclamshell and a camcorder-like position.[62] They were also well known for theN8 with a high-resolution 12-megapixel sensor, in 2010; the808 PureView with a 41-megapixel sensor, in 2012; and theLumia 920 flagship, which implemented advancedPureView technologies, in 2012.[63]
Nokia was one of the pioneers ofmobile gaming due to the popularity ofSnake, which came preloaded on many products. In 2002, Nokia attempted to break into thehandheld gaming market with theN-Gage.[64] Nokia's head of entertainment and media, Ilkka Raiskinen, once said, "Game Boy is for 10-year-olds",[65] stating that N-Gage is more suited to a mature audience. However, the device was a failure, unable to challenge the dominant market leader,Nintendo. Nokia attempted to revive N-Gage as a platform for their S60 smartphones, which eventually launched in 2008.[66]
In Q1 2004, Nokia's mobile phone handset market share steeply dropped to 28.9%, down from 34.6% a year earlier.[67] However, by 2006, the company was steadily gaining again[68][69] and in Q4 2007 reached its all-time high figure of 40.4%.[70] Its smartphone market share in that quarter was 51%.[71] Nokia was the largest vendor at the time in all regions barNorth America.[72]
Nokia launchedmobile TV trials in 2005 in Finland with content provided by public broadcasterYle. The services are based on theDVB-H standard. It could be viewed with the widescreenNokia 7710 smartphone with a special accessory enabling it to receive DVB-H signals.[73] Nokia partnered withArqiva andO2 to launch trials in the UK in September 2005.[74]
A flagship Nokia store inSão Paulo, Brazil, in 2009
In August 2007, Nokia introducedOvi, an umbrella name for the company's new Internet services, which included the N-Gage platform and theNokia Music Store.[76] The Ovi Store faced stiff competition fromApple'sApp Store when it was introduced in 2008.[77]
In October 2008, Nokia announced theNokia 5800 XpressMusic, the first device to ship with the new touch-centric S60 5th Edition, also known as Symbian^1, the first iteration of the platform since the creation of the Symbian Foundation. In November 2008, Nokia announced it would end mobile phone sales inJapan because of low market share.[78] Nokia's global mobile phone market share peaked in 2008 at 38.6 percent.[79] The same year, Nokia announced the acquisition of Trolltech and itsQt software development.[80] Qt was a central part of Nokia's strategy until 2011, and it was eventually sold in 2012.[81]
Nokia briefly returned to the computer market with theBooklet 3G netbook in August 2009.
A Nokia 9000 Communicator (1996) next to a Nokia E7 Communicator (2011)
In late 2009 and in 2010, the music-focusedXseries and consumer-focusedCseries were introduced respectively.[82] In April 2010 Nokia introduced its next flagship mobile device, theNokia N8, which would be the first to run onSymbian.[83] However it was delayed for many months which tarnished the company's image,[84] especially after the failure of its previous flagshipN97 and tougher competition fromApple and the risingGoogle. On 10 September 2010,Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo was fired as CEO and it was announced thatStephen Elop fromMicrosoft would take Nokia's CEO position, becoming the first non-Finnish director in Nokia's history.[85] It was claimed that investors pressed Nokia's board to recruit an outsider to shake up management and break from the traditional "Nokia way".[86] Ollila had also announced that he would step down as Nokia chairman by 2012.[87] On 11 March 2011 Nokia announced that it had paid Elop a $6 million signing bonus as "compensation for lost income from his prior employer", on top of his $1.4 million annual salary.[88]
The old Symbian OS became completelyopen-source in February 2010.[89] However, in November 2010 it was announced that theSymbian Foundation was closing and that Nokia would take back control of the Symbian operating system under closed licensing.[90] By now Nokia was the only remaining company using the platform, along with carrierNTT Docomo in Japan, after bothSamsung andSony Ericsson moved toAndroid. Meanwhile, in 2010 for Nokia'sLinux ambitions, Nokia collaborated withIntel to form theMeeGo project, after the merger of Nokia's ownMaemo and Intel'sMoblin.
Nokia's Symbian platform that had been the leading smartphone platform in Europe and Asia for many years was quickly becoming outdated and difficult for developers after the advent ofiOS and Android. To counter this, Nokia planned to make their MeeGo Linux operating system, under development, the company's flagship on smartphones. Shortly after Elop's CEO tenure began, the Nokia board green-lit him the ability to change the company's mobile phones strategy, including changing operating systems.[91] VeteranAnssi Vanjoki, head of the smartphones division, left the company around this time.[92] His final appearance was at Nokia World 2010 when theNokia E7-00 and other Symbian^3 devices were introduced.[93]
On 11 February 2011, Nokia announced a "strategic partnership" withMicrosoft, under which it would adoptWindows Phone 7 as its primary operating system on smartphones, and integrate its services and platforms with its own, includingBing as search engine, and integration ofNokia Maps data intoBing Maps. Elop stated that Nokia chose not to use Android because of an apparent inability to "differentiate" its offerings, with critics also noting that his past ties to Microsoft may have also influenced the decision.[94][95][96] Although the MeeGo "Harmattan"-basedN9 was met with a highly positive reception in 2011, Nokia had already decided to end development on MeeGo and solely focus on its Microsoft partnership, although the CEO said that the N9's "innovations" will live on in the future,[97] which eventually made their way on theAsha platform in 2013.[98] After the announcement of the Microsoft partnership, Nokia's market share deteriorated; this was due to demand for Symbian dropping when consumers realized Nokia's focus and attention would be elsewhere.[99]
The company posted a large loss for the second quarter of 2011 – only their second quarterly loss in 19 years.[100] Nokia's first Windows Phone flagship was theLumia 800, which arrived in November 2011. Falling sales in 2011, which were not being improved significantly with the Lumia line in 2012, led to consecutive quarters of huge losses. By mid-2012 the company's stock price fell below $2.[101][102] CEO Elop announced cost-cutting measures in June by shedding 10,000 employees by the end of the year and the closure of theSalo manufacturing plant.[103] The Finnish prime minister also announced that the government wouldn't subsidize the company from an emergency state fund.[104] Around this time Nokia started a new project codenamed "Meltemi", a platform for low-end smartphones.[105] With the Microsoft alliance and under Elop's management, Nokia also had a renewed focus on the North American market where Nokia phones were, in stark contrast to the rest of the world, almost irrelevant for many years.[106][107] This strategy began in January 2012 with the introduction of theNokia Lumia 900 smartphone in partnership with U.S. carrierAT&T.[108]
In March 2011, Nokia introduced a new corporate typeface called "Pure".[109] On 1 August 2011, Nokia announced that it would adopt a new three-digit naming system for mobile phone products and stop using letters, effectively ending theNseries,Eseries, and short-livedCseries. That same day theNokia 500 was introduced with the new system.[110] Nokia last used three-digit names on analogue phones in the 1990s.[82]
When theLumia 920 was announced in September 2012, it was seen by the press as the first high-end Windows Phone that could challenge rivals due to its advanced feature set. Elop said that the positive reaction to it had created a sense of hope and optimism in the company.[111] The company was also making gains in developing countries with itsAsha series, which were selling strongly.[112] Although Nokia's smartphone sales and market share greatly increased throughout 2013, including in the North American market,[113] it was still not enough to avoid financial losses.[114] Ollila stepped down as chairman on 4 May 2012 and was replaced by Risto Siilasmaa.[115]
In September 2013, Nokia announced the sale of its mobile and devices division to Microsoft. The sale was positive for Nokia to avoid further negative financial figures, as well as for Microsoft's CEOSteve Ballmer, who wanted Microsoft to produce more hardware and turn it into a devices and services company.[116] The Nokia chairperson, Risto Siilasmaa, described the deal as rationally correct (in the best interests of Nokia shareholders), but emotionally difficult[117] – experts agree that Nokia would have been in a cash crisis had it not sold the division to Microsoft.[118][117] Analysts believe that Ballmer pushed for the buyout because of fears that Nokia was close to adopting Android and abandoning their alliance with Microsoft.[119][120] Indeed, in January 2014 theNokia X was introduced which ran on a customised version of Android. It was a surprising and somewhat odd launch coming just weeks away from the finalization of the Microsoft buyout.[121][122] Others, including Ballmer's successorSatya Nadella, felt that Microsoft thought merging their software teams with Nokia's hardware engineering and designs would "accelerate" growth of Windows Phone.[123] The sale was completed in April 2014, withMicrosoft Mobile becoming the successor to Nokia's mobile devices division. Nokia also moved from itsheadquarters to another building complex located at Karaportti. At the time, Ballmer himself was retiring as Microsoft CEO and was replaced bySatya Nadella, who opposed the Nokia mobile phones purchase, along with chairmanBill Gates.[124] The purchased assets from Nokia were eventuallywritten-off by Microsoft in 2015.[125]
By 2014, Nokia's globalbrand value according to Interbrand fell to 98th place,[126] a sharp slide from the 5th place it was in 2009.[127] Nokia's downfall in the mobile phone market has had different explanations from analysts, with many split about the CEO's decision to abandon its in-house operating system and adopting Windows Phone in 2011.[128] Many researchers have concluded that Nokia suffered from deep internal rivalries within the management.[118][129][130][131] Former employees claimed that the management became so swollen by the early success that they grew complacent over time.[132][133] Some from the Symbian developing team have claimed that the company's upper management rejected hundreds of potential innovations during the 2000s that they proposed, including entirely rewriting Symbian's code. One former Nokia employee claimed that the company was run as a "Soviet-stylebureaucracy".[134]
Former Nokia plant inBochum, GermanyA Nokia advertising sign inDublin, Ireland
In July 2013, Nokia boughtSiemens' stake in the Nokia Siemens Networks joint venture for $2.2 billion, turning it into a wholly owned subsidiary called Nokia Solutions and Networks,[135] until being rebranded asNokia Networks soon after.[136] During Nokia's financial struggles, its profitable networking division with Siemens provided much of its income; thus, the purchase proved to be positive, particularly after the sale of its mobile devices unit.[137]
After the sale of its mobile devices division, Nokia focused on network equipment throughNokia Networks.[138]
In October 2014, Nokia andChina Mobile signed a US$970 million framework deal for delivery between 2014 and 2015.[139]
On 17 November 2014, Nokia Technologies head Ramzi Haidamus disclosed that the company planned to re-enter the consumer electronics business as anoriginal design manufacturer, licensing in-house hardware designs and technologies to third-party manufacturers. Haidamus stated that the Nokia brand was "valuable" but "is diminishing in value, and that's why it is important that we reverse that trend very quickly, imminently".[140] The next day, Nokia unveiled theN1, an Androidtablet manufactured byFoxconn, as its first product following the Microsoft sale.[141] Haidamus emphasized that devices released under these licensing agreements would be held to high standards in production quality, and would "look and feel just like Nokia built it".[12] Nokia CEO Rajeev Suri stated that the company planned to re-enter the mobile phone business in this manner in 2016, following the expiration of its non-compete clause with Microsoft.[142]
According to Robert Morlino, the spokesman of Nokia Technologies, Nokia planned to follow thebrand-licensing model rather than direct marketing of mobile devices due to the sale of its mobile devices division to Microsoft.[143] The company took aggressive steps to revitalize itself, evident through its hiring of software experts, testing of new products and seeking of sales partners.[144] On 14 July 2015, CEO Rajeev Suri confirmed that the company would make a return to the mobile phones market in 2016.[145]
On 28 July 2015, Nokia announced OZO, a360-degreesvirtual reality camera, with eight2K optical image sensors. The division behind the product, Nokia Technologies, claimed that OZO would be the most advancedVR film-making platform.[146] Nokia's press release stated that OZO would be "the first in a planned portfolio of digital media solutions," with more technological products expected in the future.[147] OZO was fully unveiled on 30 November inLos Angeles. The OZO, designed for professional use, was intended for retail for US$60,000;[148] however, its price was decreased by $15,000 prior to release,[149] and is listed on its official website as $40,000.[150]
On 14 April 2015, Nokia confirmed that it was in talks with the French telecommunications equipment companyAlcatel-Lucent regarding a potential merger.[151] The next day, Nokia announced that it had agreed to purchase Alcatel-Lucent for €15.6 billion in an all-stock deal.[152] CEO Rajeev Suri felt that the purchase would give Nokia a strategic advantage in the development of5G wireless technologies.[153][154] The acquisition created a stronger competitor to the rival firmsEricsson andHuawei,[155] whom Nokia and Alcatel-Lucent had surpassed in terms of total combined revenue in 2014. Nokia shareholders hold 66.5% of the new combined company, while Alcatel-Lucent shareholders hold 33.5%. TheBell Labs division was to be maintained, but the Alcatel-Lucent brand would be replaced by Nokia.[152][156] In October 2015, following approval of the deal by China's Ministry of Commerce, the merger awaited approval by French regulators.[157] Despite the initial intent of selling the submarine cable division separately, Alcatel-Lucent later declared that it would not.[158] The merger closed on 14 January 2016,[159] but was not complete until 3 November 2016. From the acquisition, Nokia is now also the owner of theAlcatel Mobile phone brand, which continues to be licensed toTCL.
On 3 August 2015, Nokia announced that it had reached a deal to sell itsHere digital maps division to a consortium ofBMW,Daimler AG andVolkswagen Group for €2.8 billion.[160] The deal closed on 3 December 2015.[161]
On 26 April 2016, Nokia announced its intent to acquire French connected health device makerWithings for US$191 million. The company was integrated into a new Digital Health unit of Nokia Technologies.[162][163] Nokia later wrote off the cost of the acquisition and in May 2018 the health unit was sold back toÉric Carreel, a Withings co-founder and former CEO.[164]
On 18 May 2016, Microsoft Mobile sold its Nokia-branded feature phone business toHMD Global, a new company founded by former Nokia executive Jean-Francois Baril, and an associated factory in Vietnam toFoxconn'sFIH Mobile subsidiary. Nokia subsequently entered into a long-term licensing deal to make HMD the exclusive manufacturer of Nokia-branded phones and tablets outside Japan, operating in conjunction with Foxconn. The deal also granted HMD the right to essential patents and featurephone software. HMD subsequently announced the Android-basedNokia 6 smartphone in January 2017.[165][166] AtMobile World Congress, HMD additionally unveiled theNokia 3 andNokia 5 smartphones, as well asa re-imagining of Nokia's classic3310 feature phone.[167][168] Nokia has direct investments in the company,[169] and they do have some input in the new devices.
On 28 June 2016, Nokia demonstrated for the first time a5G-ready network.[170] In February 2017 Nokia carried out a 5G connection inOulu, Finland using the 5GTF standard, backed byVerizon, onIntel architecture-based equipment.[171]
In July 2017, Nokia andXiaomi announced that they have signed a business collaboration agreement and a multi-year patent agreement, including a cross-license to each company's cellular standard-essential patents.[172] In that year, Nokia's brand value was ranked 188th by Brand Finance, a jump of 147 places from 2016. Its rise was attributed to its health portfolio and new mobile phones developed by HMD Global.[173]
In January 2018, Nokia signed a deal withNTT Docomo, Japan's largest mobile operator, to provide 5G wireless radio base stations in the country by 2020.[174] Later that month, Nokia announced the ReefShark line of 5Gchipsets, claiming that it triples bandwidth to 84 Gbit/s.[175] In March,Solidium, the investment arm of theFinnish Government, purchased a 3.3% stake in Nokia valued at €844 million.[176] In May, Nokia announced that it had acquired aCalifornia-based IoT startup, SpaceTime Insight.[177]
In January 2019, the Canadian government announced that it would provide $40 million to support Nokia's research on5G technology.[178] A 2019 study revealed that Nokia phones performed far better than rivalsSamsung,LG,Xiaomi, andHuawei in updating to the latest version ofAndroid. The study, made by Counterpoint Research, found that 96 percent of Nokia phones were either sent with or updated to the latest Android version sincePie was released in 2018. Nokia's competitors were found to be all around roughly the 80 percent range.[179]
On 2 March 2020, Nokia announcedPekka Lundmark as its new CEO.[180] Later that month, Nokia completed the acquisition of Elenion Technologies, a U.S.-based company focusing on silicon photonics technology to improve economics of advanced optical connectivity products.[181]
On 27 May 2020,Sari Baldauf succeeded Risto Siilasmaa as chairwoman of the board of directors, and Kari Stadigh was appointed vice chair. In June, Nokia won a 5G contract worth approximately $450 million[182] fromTaiwan Mobile to build out the telecom operator's next-generation network as the sole supplier.[183] In October, Nokia announced a contract withNASA to build a 4G mobile network for astronaut usage on the moon. The $14.1 million contract, through subsidiary Bell Labs, was expected to begin in 2022.[184][185][186]
In 2020,Flipkart collaborated with Nokia to market Nokia-branded consumer products in India. These included televisions, a laptop and a range of air conditioners.[187]
In April 2022, Nokia announced that it would exit the Russian market following thecountry's invasion of Ukraine. The company stated that the decision would not affect its financial outlook as Russia accounted for less than 2% of Nokia's net sales in 2021.[188]
In February 2023, Nokia introduced a new logo for the first time in nearly 60 years[189] to change its brand identity as people still associated the previous logo with mobile phones.[190] The new logo was designed byLippincott.[191]
In December 2023, Nokia acquired Fenix Group to strengthen its wireless offering in the defense segment for an undisclosed amount.[192] In the same month, Nokia announced a €185million deal with Lumine Group to carve out its device management business (inherited from Alcatel-Lucent's purchase ofMotive, Inc.) and its service management business (formerlyMformation). The deal completed in April 2024 and involved the transfer of around 500 Nokia employees.[193][194]
In February 2024, the company announced that it was accelerating itscarbon neutrality target by 10 years to 2040 after having previously committed to cutting itscarbon footprint acrossemissions scopes in half by 2030 from a 2019 baseline.[195]
In June 2024, Nokia acquiredInfinera for $2.3 billion.[196]
Inside the Nokia Networks office inMunich, Germany
Nokia Networks is Nokia Corporation's largest division. It is a multinational data networking and telecommunications equipment company headquartered in Espoo, Finland, and is the world's third-largest telecoms equipment manufacturer, measured by 2017 revenues (afterHuawei andCisco). In the USA it competes with Ericsson on building 5G networks for operators, whileHuawei Technologies andZTE Corporation were effectively banned.[202]
Nokia Networks provides wireless and fixed network infrastructure, communications and networks service platforms and professional services to operators and service providers.[204] It focuses onGSM,EDGE,3G/W-CDMA,LTE andWiMAX radio access networks, supporting core networks with increasing IP and multiaccess capabilities and services.
The Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) brand identity was launched at the 3GSM World Congress inBarcelona in February 2007 as a joint venture between Nokia (50.1%) andSiemens (49.9%),[205] although it is now wholly owned by Nokia. In July 2013, Nokia bought back all shares in Nokia Siemens Networks for a sum of US$2.21 billion and renamed it to Nokia Solutions and Networks, shortly thereafter changed to simply Nokia Networks.[206]
Nokia Technologies is a division of Nokia that develops consumer products and licenses technology including theNokia brand.[207] Its focuses are imaging, sensing, wireless connectivity, power management and materials, and other areas such as the IP licensing program. It consists of three labs: Radio Systems Lab, in areas of radio access, wireless local connectivity and radio implementation; Media Technologies Lab, in areas of multimedia and interaction; and Sensor and Material Technologies Lab, in areas of advanced sensing solutions, interaction methods, nanotechnologies and quantum technologies. Nokia Technologies also provides public participation in its development through theInvent with Nokia program.[208] It was created in 2014 following a restructuring of Nokia Corporation.
In November 2014, Nokia Technologies launched its first product, theNokia N1tablet computer.[209] In July 2015, Nokia Technologies introduced aVR camera calledOZO, designed for professional content creators and developed inTampere, Finland. With its 8 synchronized shutter sensors and 8 microphones, the product can capturestereoscopic 3D video andspatial audio.[210][211] Production of the OZO camera was discontinued in 2017, but the immersive audio software technologies continue under theNokia OZO brand, still keeping Nokia in the virtual reality market.[212]
On 31 August 2016, Ramzi Haidamus announced he would be stepping down from his position as president of Nokia Technologies.[213] Brad Rodrigues, previously head of strategy and business development, assumed the role of interim president.[214] On 30 June 2017, Gregory Lee, previously CEO ofSamsung Electronics in North America, was appointed Nokia Technologies CEO and president.[215]
Nokia Bell Labs is a research and scientific development company that was once the R&D arm of the AmericanBell System. It became a subsidiary of Nokia Corporation after the takeover ofAlcatel-Lucent in 2016.
In December 2023, Nokia announced plans for a new research facility inNew Brunswick, New Jersey. The relocation from the 80-year-old Bell Labs facility atMurray Hill, New Jersey is expected to occur before 2028. The Murray Hill laboratories produced important innovations for AT&T Corp., Lucent Technologies, Alcatel-Lucent, and Nokia.[216]
NGP Capital (formerly Nokia Growth Partners) is a global venture capital firm, focusing on investments in the growth stage "Internet of things" (IoT) andmobile technology companies.[217] NGP holds investments throughout the U.S., Europe, China and India. Their portfolio consists of companies in mobile technology including the sectors Connected Enterprise, Digital Health, Consumer IoT, and Connected Car. Following a $350 million funding for IoT companies in 2016, NGP manages $1 billion worth of assets.[218]
Nokia had previously promoted innovation through venture sponsorships dating back to 1998 with Nokia Venture Partners, which was renamed BlueRun Ventures and spun off in 2005.[219] The China arm of BlueRun Ventures became independent in 2010 and would be rebranded toLanchi Ventures.[220] Nokia Growth Partners (NGP) was founded in 2005 as a growth stage venture fund as a continuation of the early successes of Nokia Venture Partners. In 2017, the company was renamed to NGP Capital.[221]
Nuage Networks is a venture providingsoftware-defined networking solutions. It was formed by Alcatel-Lucent in 2013 to develop a software overlay for automating and orchestrating hybrid clouds.[222] It has been part of Nokia following their acquisition of Alcatel-Lucent in 2016.[223] Throughout 2017 Nuage sealed deals withVodafone andTelefónica to provide itsSD-WAN architecture to their servers.[224][225]BT had already been a client since 2016.[226] A deal withChina Mobile in January 2017 also used Nuage's software-defined networking technology for 2,000 public cloud servers at existing data centers in China,[227] and another in October 2017 withChina Pacific Insurance Company.[228]
The company is based inMountain View, California and the CEO is Sunil Khandekar.[229]
Alcatel Mobile is a mobile phone brand owned by Nokia since 2016. It has been licensed since 2005 to Chinese companyTCL when it was under the ownership of Alcatel (laterAlcatel-Lucent) in a contract until 2024.
HMD Global is a mobile phone company based in Espoo, Finland. The Nokia brand has been licensed by former Nokia employees who foundedHMD Global and introduced Nokia-brandedAndroid-based devices to the market in 2017.[230] Initially, Nokia had no investment in the company but retained some input in the development of its devices.[231]
Nokia has 10.10% ownership in HMD Global after investing alongside Qualcomm and Google in 2020. In the 2020 financial report, FIH Mobile disclosed they have a 14.38% ownership in HMD Global. Finnish Nokia owns 10.10% of HMD Global, while other investors include Google, Qualcomm, and others with an undisclosed share in HMD.
Cable ship Stanelco in 1975 with Alcatel acquisition in 2000Alcatel-Lucent ship, CS Lodbrog, in Port Keelung in 2013
Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) is a provider of turnkey undersea network solutions. The business unit develops technology and offers installation services for optical submarine cable network links across the world's oceans.[232][233]
Previously, Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks, also became part of Nokia in 2016. Nokia and ASN had added another cable ship to the fleet called,CS Ile d'Ouessant.[234] TheCS Ile d’Ouessant was purchased in 2019 and was originally built in 2011 as theCS Toisa Warrior.[235] Additionally, in 2021, Nokia and ASN requested two cable ships for the fleet, theCS Ile d'Yeu andCS Ile de Molène.[236]
Alcatel cable ship Ile-de-Batz in 2004Alcatel cable ship ile de Sein in 2004
Here is a list of the cable-laying fleet from Alcatel (6), to Alcatel-Lucent (6[237] and 7), though Nokia (8):
CSIle d'Yeu (2001, 2021–Present) Built in 2001. Purchased in 2021 by Nokia ASN as two additional ships for a fleet of eight cable ships. (IMO 9230414)
CSIle d'Molène (2006, 2021–Present) Built in 2006. Purchased in 2021 by Nokia ASN two additional ships for a fleet of eight cable ships. (IMO 9329928)[236]
CSIle d’Ouessant (2011, 2019–Present) Built in 2011 as theCS Toisa Warrior. Purchased by Nokia ASN in 2019. (IMO 9427108)[238]
CSIle d'Aix (1992, 2011–Present) Built in 1992, as the cable ship,CS Gulmar Badaro. Purchased by Alcatel-Lucent in 2011, renaming the ship as CS Ile de AIX.[239]
CSIle d' Brehat (2002–Present) Built in 2002. North route main lay of 4400 km for 2003 APOLLO route. Route clearance in 2015 for GTT Express.
CSIle d' Sein (2001–Present) Built in 2001, Length: 140.36 m, Cable work in 2003 of routes Azores to Madeira and Madeira to Porto Santo.
CSIle d' Batz (2001–Present) Built in 2001, 2003 APOLLO: Widemouth Bay, Bude, England to Brookhaven, USA and Lannion, France to Manasquan, USA, 2008 worked on TPE (Trans Pacific Express)[240]
CSIle d' Re (1983–Present) Built in 1983, in 2006 worked on the APNG 2 cable route from Sydney, Australia to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. (OMS Group in August 2023 used MakaiLay software on ship, indication not part of ASN fleet.)[241]
CSStanelco 2 (1975, 2000-Unknown) Built in 1975, Constructed by Brattvag Skips. in Brattvag. Named coasterSiraholm. Renamed in 1982 by Standard Telefon og Kabelfabrik when converted to cable repair ship. Sold to Alcatel Contracting Norway A/S, Oslo in 2000. (IMO 7382469, MMSI 341082000) (NOT IN NOKIA FLEET COUNT AS OF 2021) (OMS Group in August 2023 used MakaiLay software on ship, indication not part of ASN fleet.)
CSPeter Faber 3 (1981) Built in 1981, 2003, provided old cable recovery in the Atlantic with ile de Sein.[242] Optic Marine Services acquisition on 24 September 2019 of vessel continued ASN chartering the ship. (NOT IN NOKIA FLEET COUNT AS OF 2021) (Optic Marine Services Group in August 2023 used MakaiLay software on ship, indication not part of ASN fleet.)[241]
CSLodbrog (1985, 2000-Unknown) Built in 1985 asSpiegelberg andTuzla. Later renamed in 1996 asBolero. (IMO 8027808, MMSI: 354400000) Registered to Alcatel in 2000. (NOT IN NOKIA FLEET COUNT AS OF 2021) (OMS Group in August 2023 used MakaiLay software on ship, indication not part of ASN fleet.)[241]
CSHeimdal (1983, 2000–2004) Built in 1983, 1988: Renamed FERRYMAR I. and reverted to MERCANDIAN ADMIRAL II. 2000: Converted to a repair and cable laying vessel and sold to Alcatel Submarine Networks Marine AS. 2003 performed repair of optical fiber in the Pacific Ocean, route between Japan and the United States, at almost 9,400 km deep.[243] 2004: Sold to SEACOR Smit Offshore (Worldwide) Ltd, (SEACOR Marine (Asia) Pte Ltd (IMO 8207393, MMSI: 538002126) (SOLD IN 2004, NOT IN ALCATEL-LUCENT FLEET AS OF 2015)
The control and management of Nokia is divided among the shareholders at a general meeting and the Nokia Group Leadership Team (left),[247] under the direction of the board of directors (right).[248] The chairman and the rest of the Nokia Leadership Team members are appointed by the board of directors. Only the chairman of the Nokia Leadership Team can belong to both the board of directors and the Nokia Group Leadership Team. The Board of Directors' committees consist of the Audit Committee,[249] the Personnel Committee,[250] and the Corporate Governance and Nomination Committee.[251][252]
The operations of the company are managed within the framework set by the Finnish Companies Act,[253] Nokia's Articles of Association,[254] and Corporate Governance Guidelines,[255] supplemented by the board of directors' adopted charters. On 25 November 2019, Nokia announced that it would discontinue the role of Chief Operating Officer (COO) and distribute its functions to other company leaders. As a result, Chief Operating Officer Joerg Erlemeier decided to step down, effective 1 January 2020.[256]
In 2007, Nokia had a market capitalization of €110 billion; by 17 July 2012 this had fallen to €6.28 billion, before increasing to €26.0 billion by 23 February 2015. Nokia's market cap at 2020 was 21.76 billion.
The official business language of Nokia is English. All documentation is written in English, and is used in official intra-company communication.
In 1992, Nokia adopted values that were defined with the key wordsrespect,achievement,renewal andchallenge.[264] In May 2007, the company redefined its values after initiating a series of discussion across its worldwide branches regarding what the new values of the company should be. Based on the employee suggestions, the new values were defined as:Engaging You,Achieving Together,Passion for Innovation andVery Human.[263] In August 2014, Nokia redefined its values again after the sale of its Devices business, using the original 1992 values again.
The former Nokia House, Nokia's head office until April 2014. The building is located by theGulf of Finland inKeilaniemi,Espoo, and was constructed between 1995 and 1997. It was the workplace of more than 1,000 Nokia employees[258]
Nokia are based at Karaportti inEspoo, Finland, just outside capitalHelsinki. It has been theirhead office since 2014 after moving from the purpose-builtNokia House in Espoo as part of the sale of the mobile phone business to Microsoft.[265] The building in Karaportti was previously the headquarters of NSN (now Nokia Networks).[266]
In 2018, Nokia received the Leading Lights award for most innovative cable/video product[267] and was named toEthisphere's 2018 world's most ethical companies list.[268]
Nokia 'Arrows' logo, after merging with the Cable Factory (Kaapelitehdas) and Finnish Rubber Works (1966–1992). Used in advertising and products until c. 1997.
In 2008,Nokia Siemens Networks, a joint venture between Nokia andSiemens AG, reportedly providedIran's monopoly telecom company with technology that allowed it to intercept the Internet communications of its citizens.[275] The technology reportedly allowed Iran to usedeep packet inspection to read and change the content of emails, social media, and online phone calls. The technology "enables authorities to not only block communication but to monitor it to gather information about individuals, as well as alter it for disinformation purposes".[276]
During thepost-election protests in Iran in June 2009, Iran's Internet access was reported to have slowed to less than a tenth of its normal speeds, which experts suspected was due to using of deep packet inspection.[277]
In July 2009, Nokia began to experience aboycott of their products and services inIran. The boycott was led by consumers sympathetic to the post-election protest movement and targeted companies deemed to be collaborating with the regime. Demand for handsets fell and users began shunningSMS messaging.[278]
Nokia Siemens Networks asserted in a press release that it provided Iran only with a "lawful intercept capability solely for monitoring of local voice calls" and that it "has not provided any deep packet inspection, web censorship, or Internet filtering capability to Iran".[279]
In October 2009, Nokia filed a lawsuit againstApple Inc. in theU.S. District Court of Delaware claiming that Apple infringed on 10 of its patents related to wireless communication including data transfer.[280] Apple was quick to respond with a countersuit filed in December 2009 accusing Nokia of 11 patent infringements. Apple's general counsel,Bruce Sewell went a step further by stating, "Other companies must compete with us by inventing their own technologies, not just by stealing ours." This resulted in a legal battle between the two telecom majors with Nokia filing another suit, this time with theU.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), alleging Apple had infringed its patents in "virtually all of its mobile phones, portable music players and computers".[281] Nokia went on to ask the court to ban all U.S. imports of the Apple products, including theiPhone,Macintosh andiPod. Apple countersued by filing a complaint with the ITC in January 2010.[280]
In June 2011, Apple settled with Nokia and agreed to an estimated one time payment of $600 million and royalties to Nokia.[282] The two companies also agreed on a cross-licensing patents for some of their patented technologies.[283][284]
Nokia's Indian subsidiary was charged in January 2013 with non-payment of IndianTax Deducted at Source and transgressingtransfer pricing norms in India.[285] The unpaid TDS of₹30 billion, accrued during a course of six years, was due to royalty paid by the Indian subsidiary to its parent company.[286]
In March 2019, news broke that the company'sNokia 7 Plus phones were allegedly sending personal user data toChina over several months. According to investigators, the gadget sent unencrypted data packages including geographical location,SIM card number, and the phone's serial number to an unidentified Chinese server every time that "the phone was turned on, the screen activated or unlocked."[287] The data was sufficient to follow the movements and actions of the phone in real time.[287]
Nokia brand ownerHMD Global denied any such transfers had taken place, stating that it was instead the result of an error in the packing process of the phone's software.[288] The Finnish Office of the Data Protection Ombudsman launched an investigation into the matter on the assumption "that personal data has been transferred."[289]
^Editorial."Ericsson reports fifth straight quarter in the red". Reuters U.K. Retrieved31 January 2018.The company faces mounting competition from China's Huawei and Finland's Nokia as well as weak emerging markets and falling spending by telecoms operators for which purchases of next-generation 5G technology are still years away.[dead link]
^"Trump team idea to nationalize 5G network to counter China is rejected". Reuters. 29 January 2018.The rules for 5G networks are still being worked out by industry players. The work has been complicated by an effective ban in the United States on two of the largest firms, Chinese suppliers Huawei Technologies Co Ltd [HWT.UL] and ZTE Corp since a 2012 investigation over links to potential Chinese spying, something the companies have denied.
^Xu, Vicky Xiuzhong; Cave, Danielle; Leibold, James; Munro, Kelsey; Ruser, Nathan (1 March 2020)."Uyghurs for Sale". Australian Strategic Policy Institute. Retrieved21 March 2022.
Lamberg, Juha-Antti, et al. "The curse of agility: The Nokia Corporation and the loss of market dominance in mobile phones, 2003–2013."Business History 63.4 (2021): 574–605.online
Michael Lattanzi; Antti Korhonen; Vishy Gopalakrishnan (January 2006).Work Goes Mobile: Nokia's Lessons from the Leading Edge.John Wiley & Sons.ISBN0-470-02752-5.
Christian Lindholm; Turkka Keinonen; Harri Kiljander (June 2003).Mobile Usability: How Nokia Changed the Face of the Mobile Phone.McGraw-Hill Companies.ISBN0-07-138514-2.
Trevor Merriden (February 2001).Business The Nokia Way: Secrets of the World's Fastest Moving Company.John Wiley & Sons.ISBN1-84112-104-5.
Dan Steinbock (April 2001).The Nokia Revolution: The Story of an Extraordinary Company That Transformed an Industry. AMACOM Books.ISBN0-8144-0636-X.
Dan Steinbock (May 2010).Winning Across Global Markets: How Nokia Creates Strategic Advantage in a Fast-Changing World.Jossey-Bass / Wiley.ISBN978-0-470-33966-4.
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![Nokia introduced its "Connecting People" advertising slogan in 1992, coined by Ove Strandberg.[271][272]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aNokia_Connecting_People.svg)
![New slogan typeface (Nokia Sans font) introduced in 2005. Nokia Sans had been used by Nokia in products since 2002.[273]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aNokia_-_2005_logo.svg){kind=logo}
![The company stopped using a slogan within its logo in 2011. Logo used on Nokia-branded consumer devices including phones made by HMD Global.[274]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aNokia_wordmark.svg)
