Nokia wins first 5G radio contract in China, Ericsson loses ground

Nokia on Monday won its first 5G radio contract in China, securing a share in one of China Mobile’s three new 5G contracts, while Nordic rival Ericsson lost market share after getting caught up in a political spat.

As is customary, Chinese companies took the lion’s share of the order. Huawei took a majority share in all three contracts, followed by ZTE, according to a document published by China Mobile.

China has been ahead of all other countries in deploying 5G networks, making it one of the biggest markets for telecom infrastructure companies.

Nokia, which didn’t secure any 5G radio contracts in China last year, got a 10% share in one of the three contracts, while Ericsson got 9.6% of another contract.