Fearing Huawei curbs, Deutsche Telekom tells Nokia to shape up

BERLIN, – Deutsche Telekom has told supplier Nokia it must improve its products and service to win business installing the German group’s 5G wireless networks in Europe, according to internal documents and a source with direct knowledge of the matter.

Europe’s biggest telecoms operator has dropped Nokia as a provider of radio gear from all but one of its dozen markets in the region, according to the source and the documents – briefing notes for top Deutsche Telekom management reviewed by Reuters.

The documents – written by the vendor management team for internal meetings and talks with Nokia between July and November last year – also show the German group considered Nokia the worst performer among all suppliers in 5G tests and deployments.