This year, Nokia is focused on making a tangible impact on the real-world applications of next-gen technologies such as 5G, AI, and cloud connectivity. By enhancing the role of Communication Service Providers (CSPs), Nokia aims to empower its customers to differentiate through optimized networks, cloudification, autonomous systems, and new revenue streams. The company’s strategy ties directly into enabling growth and creating new opportunities for CSPs in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.
Big announcements include the launch of the AI-RAN Center in Dallas, a groundbreaking defense partnership with Lockheed Martin and Verizon, and the closure of the Infinera deal— major strides in Nokia's optical business. Nokia is focused on expanding its leadership in areas like private wireless, industrial edge, and data centers, while celebrating a century of innovation at Nokia Bell Labs.
Steve Saunders:
Louise, tell me, what's Nokia's priority here at MWC this year, 2025? And how does that match up with your overall corporate strategy for your customers?
Louise Fisk:
Yeah, so our priority this year and how it matches to our strategy, we're expecting our customers to do a lot this time around real-world impact of technologies like 5G, AI, connectivity, and the critical path that the CSPs bring in delivering on that promise. And then from Nokia's perspective, we'll be helping them differentiate through optimizing networks, through finding new revenue streams. And we'll also be doing that through things like cloudification, autonomous networks, interoperability, monetization.
Steve Saunders:
What can we expect to hear from Nokia this week in terms of big announcements?
Louise Fisk:
Yes, we have some very exciting announcements this week, if I just pick a couple of them. So we will be talking around our AI-RAN development by announcing a new AI-RAN Center in Dallas. We also have something in the defense space. So we have an exciting new partnership with Lockheed Martin and Verizon. And then actually, on Friday we announced the closure of the Infinera deal, which is huge for us in the optical space.
Steve Saunders:
What about after MWC? What can we expect from Nokia this year?
Louise Fisk:
Yeah, so what happens after MWC? Well, actually, if I go back two years, we launched our refresh brand here, and since then, we've been building a lot of our technology leadership and some exciting partnerships. And we've also built really strong foundations in growth areas such as data centers, defense, private wireless and industrial edge. And then outside of that, we actually have a very exciting year for Nokia Bell Labs because it's the centennial. So they've spent 100 years innovating. Hopefully they'll do 100 more. And at the moment, they're looking at things like 6G. Well, we had a launch last week with NASA. So our 4G network will be on the moon shortly.