Nokia China CEO pens open letter to address China Mobile ‘failure’

China Mobile last week announced its selection of Huawei, ZTE, and Ericsson as its primary partners for the next phase of its 5G rollout, a contract that is worth around $5.2 billion. Despite being a key player in the first phase of the rollout, it seems Nokia did not make the cut for the second stage.

 

Now, Nokia Shanghai Bell CEO Markus Borchert has felt the need to write an open letter to acknowledge the company’s “failure” to procure a piece of the 5G tender.

 

In it, he reiterated Nokia’s commitment to China Mobile as a key partner, saying they would “continue to service China Mobile unswervingly” and that their strategy towards the company would not change.

 

He also addressed a recent letter that was sent to China Unicom, supposedly by Nokia Shanghai Bell. The letter, reportedly sent on the 31st of March, cited “drastic price cuts” for Nokia’s failure to secure a China Mobile contract and urged the Chinese operator to consider “the historical service performance of various vendors when formulating their procurement plans”.

 

Borchert claims this letter is not legitimate and its sending is under investigation.

 

“We hereby solemnly declare that the letter ‘Nokia Bell from Shanghai to China Unicom on March 31’ circulating online recently does not represent our position and attitude,” he said.

 

Legitimate or not, one thing is clear: the loss of the China Mobile deal has really stung Nokia. Nokia Shanghai Bell made a loss of over $50 million last year and this recent development will surely dampen the companies prospects even further. 

 

Nokia must rapidly prove that its technology is up to scratch if its to secure a foothold in China, or else be entirely subsumed by Ericsson in the region.