Nokia secures 5G win with China Mobile, Ericsson loses share

Finnish network equipment maker Nokia has won part of three new 5G mobile phone technology contracts with Chinese telecom operator China Mobile, local media Helsingin Sanomat reports.

China Mobile released the results of its tenders on 19 July, the telecom operator is the world’s largest, and most of the agreements were won by Nokia’s Chinese competitors Huawei and ZTE. 

According to Reuters, Nokia’s share of one agreement is ten percent and overall the Finnish telecom giant accounted for four percent of the contracts. Swedish Ericsson meanwhile secured 9.58 percent of one contract and said in a press release that its award equates to about 2percent of the market share. That figure is significantly lower than what Ericsson won in China’s 2.5 GHz competitive process, where it captured an 11 percent share.

Reuters also reports that according to two sources, the combined value of the three contracts tendered is $ 6 billion, or about five billion euros.

Nokia intends to announce the details of the contract it has won in the next interim report but said in a statement, “We are aware of the outcome of the auction of China Mobile and China Broadcast Network’s 700 MHz band and it is great to be able to support our customers investing in 5G networks in China. As Nokia is currently in the silent period prior to the interim report, we will provide further information in our interim report on July 29.”

Since the United States imposed sanctions on Huawei and ZTE over trade policy disputes, Chinese telecom operators have favored domestic companies. According to Reuters, Ericsson’s relatively small share of the three agreements has also been affected by the Swedish authority’s ban on telecom operators from purchasing Huawei’s hardware and software for key parts of its networks.

Last week, Nokia issued a positive earnings warning as it expects its business to develop better this year than it previously estimated. Further information on the improved outlook is also promised in the next interim report. At the end of June, Nokia also announced that it had completed its new 5G mobile technology products. With their help, it estimates that it has outperformed its competitors.

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