Nokia Corporation 

(natively Nokia Oyj in Finnish and Nokia Abp in Swedish,[5] referred to

as Nokia)[a] is a Finnish multinational telecommunications, information technology, and consumer
electronics corporation, established in 1865. Nokia's main headquarters are in Espoo, Finland, in the
greater Helsinki metropolitan area,[3] but the company's actual roots are in the Tampere region
of Pirkanmaa.[6] In 2020, Nokia employed approximately 92,000 people[7] across over 100 countries,
did business in more than 130 countries, and reported annual revenues of around €23 billion.[4] Nokia
is a public limited company listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange.
[8]
 It was the world's 415th-largest company measured by 2016 revenues, according to the Fortune
Global 500, having peaked at 85th place in 2009.[9] It is a component of the Euro Stoxx 50 stock
market index.[10][11]
The company has operated in various industries over the past 150 years. It was founded as a pulp
mill and had long been associated with rubber and cables, but since the 1990s has focused on
large-scale telecommunications infrastructure, technology development, and licensing.[12] Nokia
made significant contributions to the mobile telephony industry, assisting in the development of
the GSM, 3G, and LTE standards. For a decade beginning in 1998, Nokia was the largest worldwide
vendor of mobile phones and smartphones. 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 with Microsoft and Nokia's subsequent market struggles,[13][14][15] in 2014 Microsoft
bought Nokia's mobile phone business,[16][17] incorporating it as Microsoft Mobile.[18] After the sale,
Nokia began to focus more on its telecommunications infrastructure business and on Internet of
things technologies, marked by the divestiture of its Here mapping division and the acquisition
of Alcatel-Lucent, including its Bell Labs research organization.[19] The company then also
experimented with virtual reality and digital health, the latter through the purchase of Withings.[20][21][22]
[23]
 The Nokia brand returned to the mobile and smartphone market in 2016 through a licensing
arrangement with HMD Global.[24] Nokia continues to be a major patent licensor for most large mobile
phone vendors.[25] As of 2018, Nokia is the world's third-largest network equipment manufacturer.[26]
The company was viewed with national pride by Finns, as its mobile phone business made it by far
the largest worldwide company and brand from Finland.[27] At its peak in 2000, Nokia accounted for
4% of the country's GDP, 21% of total exports, and 70% of the Helsinki Stock
Exchange market capital.[28][29]

History[edit]
Main article: History of Nokia

1865–1967[edit]

Rolls of toilet paper produced by Nokia in the 1960s, Vapriikki Museum Centre, Tampere

Nokia's history dates from 1865, when Finnish-Swede mining engineer Fredrik Idestam established

a pulp mill on the shores of the Tammerkoski rapids near the town of Tampere, Finland (then in
the Russian Empire).[6] A second pulp mill was opened in 1868 near the neighboring town of Nokia,
where there were better hydropower resources.[6] In 1871, Idestam, together with a friend Leo
Mechelin, formed a shared company and called it Nokia Ab (in Swedish, 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 into electricity
generation by 1902, which Idestam had opposed. In 1904, Suomen Gummitehdas (Finnish Rubber
Works), a rubber business founded by Eduard Polón, established a factory near the town of Nokia
and used its name.
In 1922, in a now independent Finland, Nokia Ab entered into a partnership with Finnish Rubber
Works and Kaapelitehdas (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 made respirators for both civilian and military use, from the 1930s well into the
early 1990s.[30]

1967–1990[edit]

LV 317M military radio in the Hämeenlinna artillery museum

Nokian rubber boots

In 1967, the three companies – Nokia, Kaapelitehdas, and Finnish 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 for Finland's defence forces (Puolustusvoimat), such as the Sanomalaite
M/90 communicator in 1983, and the M61 gas mask first developed in the 1960s. Nokia was now
also making professional mobile radios, telephone switches, capacitors and chemicals.
After Finland's trade agreement with the Soviet Union in the 1960s, Nokia expanded into the Soviet
market. It soon widened trade, ranging from automatic telephone exchanges to robotics among
others; by the late 1970s, the Soviet Union became a major market for Nokia, yielding high profits.
Nokia also co-operated on scientific technology with the Soviet Union. The U.S. government became
increasingly suspicious of that co-operation after the end of the Cold War détente in the early 1980s.
Nokia imported many US-made components and used them in products for the Soviets, and
according to U.S. Deputy Minister of Defence, Richard Perle, Nokia had a secret co-operation
with The Pentagon that allowed the U.S. to keep track of technological developments in the Soviet
Union through trading with Nokia.[31] This was a demonstration of Finland trading with 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 maker Salora in 1984, followed by Swedish
electronics and computer maker Luxor AB in 1985, and French television maker Oceanic in 1987.
This made Nokia the third-largest television manufacturer of Europe (behind Philips and Thomson).
The existing brands continued to be used until the end of the television business in 1996.

Nokia Mikko 3 minicomputer, 1978

Mobira Cityman 450, 1985

In 1987, Nokia acquired Schaub-Lorenz, the consumer operations of Germany's Standard Elektrik

Lorenz (SEL), which included its "Schaub-Lorenz" and "Graetz" brands. It was originally part of
American conglomerate International 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 of Alcatel, in 1986.
On 1 April 1988, Nokia bought the Information Systems division of Ericsson,[32] which had originated
as the Datasaab computer division of Swedish aircraft and car manufacturer Saab. Ericsson
Information Systems made Alfaskop terminals, typewriters, minicomputers and Ericsson-
branded IBM compatible PCs. The merger with Nokia's Information Systems division—which since
1981 had a line of personal computers called MikroMikko—resulted in the name Nokia Data.
Nokia also acquired Mobira, a mobile telephony company, which was the foundation of its future
mobile phone business. In 1981, Mobira launched the Nordic Mobile Telephone (NMT) service, the
world's first international cellular network and the first to allow international roaming. In 1982, Mobira
launched the Mobira 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 to James
Bond's gadgets: improbably futuristic and niche devices. After all these acquisitions, Nokia's revenue
base became US$2.7 billion.
CEO Kairamo committed suicide on 11 December 1988.
In 1987, Kaapelitehdas discontinued production of cables at its Helsinki factory after 44 years,
effectively shutting down the sub-company.
 

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)

 
 

A 1986 Mobira pager

1990–2010[edit]

Jorma Ollila, who oversaw the rise of Nokia in the mobile phone market as CEO from 1992 to 2006

Following Simo 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, to UK-based International
Computers Limited (ICL), the precursor of Fujitsu Siemens. Investors thought of this as financial
trouble and Nokia's stock price sank as a result. Finland was now also experiencing its worst
recession in living memory, and the collapse of the Soviet Union, a major customer, made matters
worse.
Vuorilehto quit in January 1992 and was replaced by Jorma 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 the Mobira Cityman 900 in
1987. Nokia assisted in the development of the GSM mobile standard in the 1980s, and developed
the first GSM network with Siemens, the predecessor to Nokia Siemens Network. The world's first
GSM call was made by Finnish prime minister Harri Holkeri on 1 July 1991, using Nokia equipment
on the 900 MHz band network built by Nokia and operated by Radiolinja. In November 1992,
the Nokia 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 its television business to Canada/Hong Kong-
based Semi-Tech Corporation.[35] The television manufacturing plant in Germany closed down in
September 1996. The sale included a factory in Turku, 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 launch digital satellite receivers in the UK, announced in March 1997.[37] In
August 1997 Nokia introduced the first digital satellite receiver with Common Interface (CI) support.
[38]
 In 1998 Nokia became the chosen supplier to produce the world's first digital terrestrial
television set-top boxes by British Digital Broadcasting (BDB), which was eventually launched
as ONdigital.[39]
A Nokia Mediamaster set-top box

In October 1998, Nokia overtook Motorola 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 and Ericsson was that it managed to cater to the consumer youth
market and fashion-oriented consumers, most significantly with the Nokia 5110 and 3210 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 watchmaker Swatch, was based on
Nokia's 101 handset.[44] The company would also form the Vertu division, creating luxury mobile
handsets.
Nokia claimed in April 1996 its 447Xav and 447K monitors to be the first with stereo speakers and
a sub-woofer.[45] In May 1999 Nokia introduced their first wireless LAN products.[46] In January
2000 ViewSonic acquired Nokia Display Products, the division making displays for personal
computers.[47] On 26 April 2001 Nokia partnered with Telefónica to supply DSL modems and routers
in Spain.[48]
In 1997, Nokia established a joint venture with Brazilian electronics firm Gradient 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 co-founded Symbian Ltd. led by Psion to create a new operating system
for PDAs and smart mobile phones as a successor of EPOC32. They released the Nokia 9210
Communicator running Symbian OS in 2001 and later that year created the Symbian Series
60 platform, later introducing it with their first camera phone, the Nokia 7650. Both Nokia and
Symbian eventually became the largest smartphone 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 the Symbian 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
a Japanese company.[54] Between 1996 and 2001, Nokia's turnover increased fivefold, from €6.5
billion to €31 billion.[55]

A collection of Nokia mobile phones from the 2000s

The company would then be known as a successful and innovative maker of camera phones.
The Nokia 3600/3650 was the first camera phone on sale in North America in 2003. In April 2005
Nokia partnered with German camera optics maker Carl Zeiss AG.[56] That same month Nokia
introduced the Nseries, which would become its flagship line of smartphones for the next six years.
[57]
 The Nokia N95 was introduced in September 2006 became highly successful and was also
awarded as "best mobile imaging device" in Europe in 2007.[58] Its successor the N82 featured
a xenon flash,[59] which helped it win the award of "best mobile imaging" device in Europe in 2008.
[60]
 The N93 in 2006 was known for its specialized camcorder and the twistable design that switches
between clamshell and a camcorder-like position.[61] They were also well known for the N8 with a
high-resolution 12-megapixel sensor in 2010; the 808 PureView in 2012 with a 41-megapixel sensor;
and the Lumia 920 flagship in 2012 which implemented advanced PureView technologies.[62]
Nokia was one of the pioneers of mobile gaming due to the popularity of Snake, which came pre-
loaded on many products. In 2002, Nokia attempted to break into the handheld gaming market with
the N-Gage.[63] Nokia's head of entertainment and media, Ilkka Raiskinen, once quoted "Game Boy is
for 10-year-olds",[64] 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.[65]
In Q1 2004, Nokia's mobile phone handset market share steeply dropped to 28.9%, down from
34.6% a year earlier.[66] However, by 2006 the company was steadily gaining again[67][68] and in Q4
2007 reached its all-time high figure of 40.4%.[69] Its smartphone market share in that quarter was
51%.[70] Nokia was the largest vendor at the time in all regions bar North America.[71]
Nokia launched mobile TV trials in 2005 in Finland with content provided by public broadcaster Yle.
The services are based on the DVB-H standard. It could be viewed with the widescreen Nokia
7710 smartphone with a special accessory enabling it to receive DVB-H signals.[72] Nokia partnered
with Arqiva and O2 to launch trials in the UK in September 2005.[73]
In 2005, Nokia developed a Linux-based operating system called Maemo, which shipped that year
on the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet.
On 1 June 2006, Jorma Ollila became the company's chairman and retired as CEO, replaced by Olli-
Pekka Kallasvuo.[74]

A flagship Nokia store in São Paulo, Brazil in 2009

In August 2007, Nokia introduced Ovi, an umbrella name for the company's new Internet services
which included the N-Gage platform and the Nokia Music Store.[75] The Ovi Store faced stiff
competition against Apple's App Store when it was introduced in 2008.[76]
In October 2008, Nokia announced the Nokia 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 in Japan because of low market share.[77] Nokia's global mobile phone market share
peaked in 2008 at 38.6 percent.[78] The same year, Nokia announced the acquisition of Trolltech and
its Qt software development.[79] Qt was a central part of Nokia's strategy until 2011, and it was
eventually sold in 2012.[80]
Nokia briefly returned to the computer market with the Booklet 3G netbook in August 2009.

2010–2014[edit]
A Nokia 9000 Communicator (1996) next to a Nokia E7 Communicator (2011)

In late 2009 and in 2010, the music-focused Xseries and consumer-focused Cseries were introduced

respectively.[81] In April 2010 Nokia introduced its next flagship mobile device, the Nokia N8, which
would be the first to run on Symbian^3.[82] However it was delayed for many months which tarnished
the company's image,[83] especially after the failure of its previous flagship N97 and tougher
competition from Apple and the rising Google. On 10 September 2010, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo was
fired as CEO and it was announced that Stephen Elop from Microsoft would take Nokia's CEO
position, becoming the first non-Finnish director in Nokia's history.[84] It was claimed that investors
pressed Nokia's board to recruit an outsider to shake up management and break from the traditional
"Nokia way".[85] Ollila had also announced that he would step down as Nokia chairman by 2012.[86] 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.[87]

Nokia and Microsoft Lumia devices

The old Symbian OS became completely open source in February 2010.[88] However, in November

2010 it was announced that the Symbian Foundation was closing and that Nokia would take back
control of the Symbian operating system under closed licensing.[89] By now Nokia was the only
remaining company using the platform, along with carrier NTT DoCoMo in Japan, after
both Samsung and Sony Ericsson moved to Android. Meanwhile, in 2010 for
Nokia's Linux ambitions, Nokia collaborated with Intel to form the MeeGo project, after the merger of
Nokia's own Maemo and Intel's Moblin.
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 of iOS 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.[90] Veteran Anssi Vanjoki, head of the smartphones division, left the
company around this time.[91] His final appearance was at Nokia World 2010 when the Nokia E7 and
other Symbian^3 devices were introduced.[92]
On 11 February 2011, Nokia announced a "strategic partnership" with Microsoft, under which it
would adopt Windows Phone 7 as its primary operating system on smartphones, and integrate its
services and platforms with its own, including Bing as search engine, and integration of Nokia
Maps data into Bing 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.[93][94][95] Although the MeeGo "Harmattan"-based N9 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,[96] which eventually made their way on the Asha platform in 2013.[97] 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.[98]
The company posted a large loss for the second quarter of 2011 – only their second quarterly loss in
19 years.[99] Nokia's first Windows Phone flagship was the Lumia 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.[100]
[101]
 CEO Elop announced cost-cutting measures in June by shedding 10,000 employees by the end
of the year and the closure of the Salo manufacturing plant.[102] The Finnish prime minister also
announced that the government wouldn't subsidize the company from an emergency state fund.
[103]
 Around this time Nokia started a new project codenamed "Meltemi", a platform for low-end
smartphones.[104] 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.[105][106] This strategy began in January 2012 with the
introduction of the Nokia Lumia 900 smartphone in partnership with U.S. carrier AT&T.[107]
In March 2011, Nokia introduced a new corporate typeface called "Pure".[108] 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 the Nseries, Eseries, and short-lived Cseries. That same
day the Nokia 500 was introduced with the new system.[109] Nokia last used three-digit names on
analogue phones in the 1990s.[81]
When the Lumia 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.[110] The company
was also making gains in developing countries with its Asha series, which were selling strongly.
[111]
 Although Nokia's smartphone sales and market share greatly increased throughout 2013,
including in the North American market,[112] it was still not enough to avoid financial losses.[113] Ollila
stepped down as chairman on 4 May 2012 and was replaced by Risto Siilasmaa.[114]

Risto Siilasmaa, Nokia chairman from 2012 to 2020

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
CEO Steve Ballmer, who wanted Microsoft to produce more hardware and turn it into a devices and
services company.[115] The Nokia chairman, Risto Siilasmaa, described the deal as rationally correct
(in the best interests of Nokia shareholders), but emotionally difficult[116] – experts agree that Nokia
would have been in a cash crisis had it not sold the division to Microsoft.[117][116] Analysts believe that
Ballmer pushed for the buyout because of fears that Nokia was close to adopting Android and
abandoning their alliance with Microsoft.[118][119] Indeed, in January 2014 the Nokia 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.[120][121] Others, including Ballmer's
successor Satya Nadella, felt that Microsoft thought merging their software teams with Nokia's
hardware engineering and designs would "accelerate" growth of Windows Phone.[122] The sale was
completed in April 2014, with Microsoft Mobile becoming the successor to Nokia's mobile devices
division. Nokia also moved from its headquarters to another building complex located at Karaportti.
At the time, Ballmer himself was retiring as Microsoft CEO and was replaced by Satya Nadella, who
opposed the Nokia mobile phones purchase, along with chairman Bill Gates.[123] The purchased
assets from Nokia were eventually written-off by Microsoft in 2015.[124]
By 2014, Nokia's global brand value according to Interbrand fell to 98th place,[125] a sharp slide from
the 5th place it was in 2009.[126] 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.[127] Many researchers have concluded that
Nokia suffered from deep internal rivalries within the management.[117][128][129][130] Former employees
claimed that the management became so swollen by the early success that they grew complacent
over time.[131][132] 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-style bureaucracy".[133]

Former Nokia plant in Bochum, Germany

A Nokia advertising sign in Dublin, Ireland

In July 2013, Nokia bought Siemens' stake in the Nokia Siemens Networks joint venture for $2.2
billion, turning it into a wholly owned subsidiary called Nokia Solutions and Networks,[134] until being
rebranded as Nokia Networks soon after.[135] 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.[136]

2014–2016[edit]
After the sale of its mobile devices division, Nokia focused on network equipment through Nokia
Networks.[137]
In October 2014, Nokia and China Mobile signed a US$970 million framework deal for delivery
between 2014 and 2015.[138]
On 17 November 2014, Nokia Technologies head Ramzi Haidamus disclosed that the company
planned to re-enter the consumer electronics business as an original 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".[139] The next day, Nokia unveiled the N1, an
Android tablet manufactured by Foxconn, as its first product following the Microsoft sale.
[140]
 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.[141]
According to Robert Morlino, the spokesman of Nokia Technologies, Nokia planned to follow
the brand-licensing model rather than direct marketing of mobile devices due to the sale of its mobile
devices division to Microsoft.[142] The company took aggressive steps to revitalize itself, evident
through its hiring of software experts, testing of new products and seeking of sales partners.[143] On
14 July 2015, CEO Rajeev Suri confirmed that the company would make a return to the mobile
phones market in 2016.[144]
On 28 July 2015, Nokia announced OZO, a 360-degrees virtual reality camera, with eight 2K optical
image sensors. The division behind the product, Nokia Technologies, claimed that OZO would be
the most advanced VR film-making platform.[145] 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.[146] OZO was fully unveiled on 30 November in Los Angeles. The OZO, designed for
professional use, was intended for retail for US$60,000;[147] however, its price was decreased by
$15,000 prior to release,[148] and is listed on its official website as $40,000.[149]

Nokia office building in Markham, Ontario, Canada in 2016 – originally Alcatel-Lucent's office

A Nokia Flexi Zone base transceiver station (2015)

On 14 April 2015, Nokia confirmed that it was in talks with the French telecommunications
equipment company Alcatel-Lucent regarding a potential merger.[150] The next day, Nokia announced
that it had agreed to purchase Alcatel-Lucent for €15.6 billion in an all-stock deal.[151] CEO Rajeev
Suri felt that the purchase would give Nokia a strategic advantage in the development of 5G wireless
technologies.[152][153] The acquisition created a stronger competitor to the rival
firms Ericsson and Huawei,[154] 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%. The Bell Labs division was to be maintained, but the
Alcatel-Lucent brand would be replaced by Nokia.[151][155] In October 2015, following approval of the
deal by China's Ministry of Commerce, the merger awaited approval by French regulators.[156] Despite
the initial intent of selling the submarine cable division separately, Alcatel-Lucent later declared that
it would not.[157] The merger closed on 14 January 2016,[158] but was not complete until 3 November
2016. From the acquisition, Nokia is now also the owner of the Alcatel mobile phone brand, which
continues to be licensed to TCL Corporation.
On 3 August 2015, Nokia announced that it had reached a deal to sell its Here digital maps division
to a consortium of BMW, Daimler AG and Volkswagen Group for €2.8 billion.[159] The deal closed on 3
December 2015.[160]

2016–2019[edit]
On 26 April 2016, Nokia announced its intent to acquire French connected health device
maker Withings for US$191 million. The company was integrated into a new Digital Health unit of
Nokia Technologies.[161][162] Nokia later wrote off the cost of the acquisition and in May 2018 the health
unit was sold back to Éric Carreel, a Withings co-founder and former CEO.[163]
2017 Nokia 6

On 18 May 2016, Microsoft Mobile sold its Nokia-branded feature phone business to HMD Global, a
new company founded by former Nokia executive Jean-Francois Baril, and an associated factory in
Vietnam to Foxconn's FIH 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-based Nokia 6 smartphone in
January 2017.[164][165] At Mobile World Congress, HMD additionally unveiled the Nokia 3 and Nokia
5 smartphones, as well as a re-imagining of Nokia's classic 3310 feature phone.[166][167] Nokia has
direct investments in the company,[168] and they do have some input in the new devices.
On 28 June 2016, Nokia demonstrated for the first time a 5G-ready network.[169] In February 2017
Nokia carried out a 5G connection in Oulu, Finland using the 5GTF standard, backed by Verizon,
on Intel architecture-based equipment.[170]
In July 2017, Nokia and Xiaomi 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.[171] 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.[172]
In January 2018, Nokia signed a deal with NTT Docomo, Japan's largest mobile operator, to provide
5G wireless radio base stations in the country by 2020.[173] Later that month, Nokia announced the
ReefShark line of 5G chipsets, claiming that it triples bandwidth to 84 Gbit/s.[174] In March, Solidium,
the investment arm of the Finnish government, purchased a 3.3% stake in Nokia valued at €844
million.[175] In May, Nokia announced that it had acquired a California-based IoT startup, SpaceTime
Insight.[176]
In January 2019, the Canadian government announced that it would provide $40 million to support
Nokia's research on 5G technology.[177] A 2019 study revealed that Nokia phones performed far better
than rivals Samsung, LG, Xiaomi, and Huawei in updating to the latest version of Android. The
study, made by Counterpoint Research, found that 96 percent of Nokia phones were either sent with
or updated to the latest Android version since Pie was released in 2018. Nokia's competitors were
found to be all around roughly the 80 percent range.[178]

2020–present[edit]
On March 2, 2020, Nokia announced Pekka Lundmark as its new CEO.[179] 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.[180]
On May 27, 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[181] from Taiwan Mobile to build out the telecom operator's next-generation network as
the sole supplier.[182] In October, Nokia announced a contract with NASA 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.[183][184][185]
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.[186] In April 2022, Nokia
announced that it would exit the Russian market following the country'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.[187]
In February 2023, Nokia introduced a new logo for the first time in nearly 60 years[188] to change its
brand identity as people still associated the previous logo with mobile phones.[189] The new logo was
designed by Lippincott.[190]

Current operations[edit]
Nokia is a julkinen osakeyhtiö (public joint-stock company) listed on the Nasdaq
Nordic/Helsinki and New York stock exchanges.[8] Nokia has played a very large role in the economy
of Finland,[191][192] and it is an important employer in the country, working with multiple
local partners and subcontractors.[193] Nokia contributed 1.6% to Finland's GDP and accounted for
about 16% of the country's exports in 2006.[194]
Nokia comprises two business groups along with further subsidiaries and affiliated firms.

Nokia Networks[edit]
Main article: Nokia Networks

Inside the Nokia Networks office in Munich, 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 (after Huawei and Cisco). In
the USA it competes with Ericsson on building 5G networks for operators, while Huawei
Technologies and ZTE Corporation were effectively banned.[195]
It has operations in around 150 countries.[196]
Nokia Networks provides wireless and fixed network infrastructure, communications and networks
service platforms and professional services to operators and service providers.[197] It focuses
on GSM, EDGE, 3G/W-CDMA, LTE and WiMAX 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
in Barcelona in February 2007 as a joint venture between Nokia (50.1%) and Siemens (49.9%),
[198]
 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.[199]

Nokia Technologies[edit]

Nokia office building in Tampere, Finland

Nokia Technologies is a division of Nokia that develops consumer products and licenses technology
including the Nokia brand.[200] 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 the Invent with Nokia program.[201] It was created in 2014 following a
restructuring of Nokia Corporation.
In November 2014, Nokia Technologies launched its first product, the Nokia N1 tablet computer.
[202]
 In July 2015, Nokia Technologies introduced a VR camera called OZO, designed for professional
content creators and developed in Tampere, Finland. With its 8 synchronized shutter sensors and 8
microphones, the product can capture stereoscopic 3D video and spatial audio.[203][204]
On 31 August 2016, Ramzi Haidamus announced he would be stepping down from his position as
president of Nokia Technologies.[205] Brad Rodrigues, previously head of strategy and business
development, assumed the role of interim president.[206] On 30 June 2017, Gregory Lee, previously
CEO of Samsung Electronics in North America, was appointed Nokia Technologies CEO and
president.[207]

Nokia Bell Labs[edit]

Main article: Bell Labs
Nokia Bell Labs is a research and scientific development firm that was once the R&D arm of the
American Bell System. It became a subsidiary of Nokia Corporation after the takeover of Alcatel-
Lucent in 2016.

NGP Capital[edit]
NGP Capital (formerly Nokia Growth Partners) is a global venture capital firm, focusing on
investments in the growth stage "Internet of things" (IoT) and mobile technology companies.[208] 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.[209]
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.[210] 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.[211]
NGP's largest exits include GanJi, UCWeb, Whistle, Rocket Fuel, Swype, Summit Microelectronics
and Netmagic.

Nuage Networks[edit]
Nuage Networks is a venture providing software-defined networking solutions. It was formed by
Alcatel-Lucent in 2013 to develop a software overlay for automating and orchestrating hybrid clouds.
[212]
 It has been part of Nokia following their acquisition of Alcatel-Lucent in 2016.[213] Throughout 2017
Nuage sealed deals with Vodafone and Telefónica to provide its SD-WAN architecture to their
servers.[214][215] BT had already been a client since 2016.[216] A deal with China Mobile in January 2017
also used Nuage's software-defined networking technology for 2,000 public cloud servers at existing
data centers in China,[217] and another in October 2017 with China Pacific Insurance Company.[218]
The company is based in Mountain View, California and the CEO is Sunil Khandekar.[219]

Alcatel Mobile[edit]
Main article: Alcatel Mobile
Alcatel Mobile is a mobile phone brand owned by Nokia since 2016. It has been licensed since 2005
to Chinese company TCL when it was under the ownership of Alcatel (later Alcatel-Lucent) in a
contract until 2024.

HMD Global[edit]
Main article: HMD Global
HMD Global is a mobile phone company based in Espoo, Finland. The Nokia brand has been
licensed by former Nokia employees who founded HMD Global and introduced Nokia-
branded Android-based devices to the market in 2017.[220] Nokia has no investment in the company
but retains some input in the development of its devices.[221]
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.

Alcatel Submarine Networks[edit]

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.[222][223]

Corporate affairs[edit]
Corporate governance[edit]
The control and management of Nokia is divided among the shareholders at a general meeting and
the Nokia Group Leadership Team (left),[224] under the direction of the board of directors (right).
[225]
 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,[226] the Personnel Committee,[227] and the Corporate Governance and Nomination
Committee.[228][229]
The operations of the company are managed within the framework set by the Finnish Companies
Act,[230] Nokia's Articles of Association,[231] and Corporate Governance Guidelines,[232] 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.[233]
Former corporate officers[edit]

Chief executive officers Chairpersons of the board of directors[234]

Name Tenure Name Tenure

1967–
Björn Westerlund Lauri J. Kivekäs 1967–1977
1977

1977–
Kari Kairamo Björn Westerlund 1977–1979
1988

Mika Tiivola 1979–1986

Kari Kairamo 1986–1988

 1988–
Simo Vuorilehto Simo Vuorilehto 1988–1990
1992

Mika Tiivola 1990–1992

1992–
Jorma Ollila Casimir Ehrnrooth 1992–1999
2006

2006–
Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo Jorma Ollila 1999–2012
2010

2010–
Stephen Elop
2014

2014–
Rajeev Suri Risto Siilasmaa 2012–2020
2020

Pekka Lundmark Aug 2020 Sari Baldauf 2020–current

Stock[edit]
Nokia is a public limited liability company and is the oldest company listed under the same name on
the Helsinki Stock Exchange, beginning in 1915.[235] Nokia has had a secondary listing on the New
York Stock Exchange since 1994.[8][235] Nokia shares were delisted from the London Stock
Exchange in 2003, the Paris Stock Exchange in 2004, the Stockholm Stock Exchange in 2007 and
the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in 2012.[236] Due to the acquisition of Alcatel-Lucent in 2015, Nokia
listed its shares again on the Paris Stock Exchange and was included in the CAC 40 index on 6
January 2016[237] but later removed on 18 September 2017.[238]
In 2007, Nokia had a market capitalization of €110 billion; by 17 July 2012 this had fallen to €6.28
billion, and by 23 February 2015, it increased to €26.07 billion. Nokia market cap at 2020 was 21.76
billion.

Corporate culture[edit]
Nokia's official corporate culture manifesto since the 1990s is called The Nokia Way.[239] It
emphasizes the speed and flexibility of decision-making in a flat, networked organization.[240]
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
words respect, achievement, renewal and challenge.[241] 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 and Very Human.[240] In August 2014,
Nokia redefined its values again after the sale of its Devices business, using the original 1992 values
again.

Headquarters[edit]
The former Nokia House, Nokia's head office until April 2014. The building is located by the Gulf of
Finland in Keilaniemi, Espoo, and was constructed between 1995 and 1997. It was the workplace of more than
1,000 Nokia employees.[235]

Nokia are based at Karaportti in Espoo, Finland, just outside capital Helsinki. It has been their head
office since 2014 after moving from the purpose-built Nokia House in Espoo as part of the sale of the
mobile phone business to Microsoft.[242] The building in Karaportti was previously the headquarters of
NSN (now Nokia Networks).[