Nokia Sets Sights on Redemption

It was last fall when we sent Nitin Dahad, EE Times’ London correspondent, to Oulu, Finland, when the city invited us to come and have a look at 6G.

Obviously, the mention of “6G” was startling. After all, the world is still busy working out the kinks in 5G networks. More significantly, we couldn’t help thinking who would possibly be behind this 6G pitch — other than Nokia.

We huddled. We compared notes. We argued. Then, we called a trusted source: esteemed communication technology analyst Loring Wirbel, one of our former colleagues at EE Times.

We picked Loring’s vast brain and elicited views on 5G, 6G and the key players involved. His succinct judgment was, “Handset fatigue has begun to set in worldwide. Nokia got out of the business just in time.”

That set the course of our Special Project.

While Nitin visited Oulu to find out more about 6G (or more accurately, 6Genesis — the 6G-Enabled Wireless Smart Society & Ecosystem), the rest of us decided to outline a Special Project focused on Nokia. The Finnish company has been, for decades, a key witness to the cellular network revolution. 5G and the still undefined leap to 6G should offer Nokia a fresh chance to rehabilitate and seize the future. In this endeavor, the company can lean on its network business. It will have ample opportunity to leverage its radio technology expertise.

We asked John Walko, our colleague and experienced telecommunication editor in London, to tear down Nokia, examining its past and future. We tapped the financial expertise of Bolaji Ojo, global editor in chief of AspenCore Media, to process Nokia’s business analysis. Wirbel gave us perspective on 5G and the misty promise of 6G. Spoiler alert: Loring warns that “regional/political factors of backbone networks” will make the coming 6G (and 5G) “uncertain.” 

Check out all the stories inside this Nokia Special Project.

Nokia’s Bumpy Ride Toward Redemption
Few technology companies in recent years have experienced a fall as precipitous — or acted as aggressively to right the ship — as Nokia.

Nokia Bets It All on 5G
Watch Nokia Corp. The communications and networking equipment manufacturer is for the umpteenth time on another bold, but perilous redemption journey.

Infrastructure Focus Clouds Bull View on 6G
The uncertainties for the still-nascent 6G come from two sources: Handset fatigue; and regional/political factors of backbone networks.

5G is Just Rolling Out. So What's 6G?
When the city of Oulu, Finland, invited me to come and look at the research work done on 6G, my immediate thought was: But we don’t even have commercial 5G yet.