Nokia warns of “challenging” year as it plays catch-up

HELSINKI: Finnish telecom network equipment maker Nokia warned of challenges to come this year as it tries to catch up with rivals after a strong finish to 2020.

While both Nokia and rival Ericsson have been gaining 5G customers that might otherwise have gone to China’s Huawei, Ericsson has fared better, winning also big 5G contracts in China, where the deployment of the next-generation network is in full swing.

“We have not yet made a breakthrough in 5G (in China) but of course we are not excluding that possibility going forward,” new Chief Executive Pekka Lundmark told Reuters. “But we want to be prudent so that we do not want to be there at any cost.”