Published in Mobiles

Nokia expects 4G to pick up this year

by on27 February 2017


Rumours of its demise exagerated 

Former maker of rubber wear Nokia claims that demand for higher speed 4G network equipment is starting to recover this year.

Nokia and other telco hardware makers have been suffering lately because the 4G market has been saterated and the 5G market has not even started yet.

However Nokia's chief executive Rajeev Suri announced a series of deals with telecom operators and said he expected things to turn around – starting with Japan.

 Suri also predicted a new wave of industry consolidation among telecom operators in the U.S. and Indian markets in the course of 2017.

"Noise about carrier M&A will heat up dramatically in United States and India. The pent-up demand for action is there," Suri said.

Nokia repeated that while it expected the global networks market to fall around 2 percent in 2017, it spotted growth opportunities in markets such as North America, India and Japan.

"We believe that the (overall) primary market in which we compete will be down again... but to be considerably better than last year," Suri said, anticipating a slower rate of decline. Investments in 4G, particularly in advanced 4G technology, will pick back up in some key markets, such as Japan," Suri said.

Earlier this month, Nokia reported its profits for the final quarter of last year fell less than expected, helped by cost cuts and the acquisition of Alcatel-Lucent.

The Finnish company has reached a "landmark", three-year deal with Telefonica to build networks in London, Suri said on Sunday, adding that the contract propels Nokia to overcome Ericsson as the leading network supplier in Britain.

Nokia also announced that it was working with US telecoms carrier Verizon and semiconductor giant Intel to supply equipment for pre-commmercial 5G services in US markets, including Dallas.

 

Last modified on 27 February 2017
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