We’ve been talking a lot about Nokia here at RCR — and today won’t be any different. The Finnish vendor stands at a fork in the road. After decades as a network-gear stalwart, the company has unveiled not just a new plan, but a new identity — reorganizing into “Network Infrastructure” and “Mobile Infrastructure” divisions effective January 2026, an attempt to reposition for what it calls the AI supercycle.
But that shift is far from smooth. On the one hand, Nokia is still securing meaningful wins. Taoyuan International Airport in Taiwan recently selected the vendor to modernize its critical communications fabric with a converged IP/MPLS network — a deal that plants Nokia firmly in the “connectivity for the AI era” narrative. On the other hand, the company is shedding legacy assets and significant headcount: In Germany alone, Nokia plans to cut roughly 700 jobs and close its Munich site by 2030, part of a broader operational streamlining effort.
Meanwhile, RCR’s own James Blackman posed the question last week: Has Nokia lost its way? Or its mind? Or its soul? The company appears to be retreating from the private-5G and enterprise-campus edge space where it once led, choosing instead to double down on optical/IP transport, fixed networks, and cloud/AI infrastructure — high margin, large scale — while abandoning niche solutions. Case in point: Today’s news that the company is planning a $4 billion investment in U.S. R&D and manufacturing for AI-ready network technologies.
It’s the story of a bold vendor grappling with a flat 5G market and trying to define what comes next. Shedding slow-growth bets. Chasing scale and margin. Betting big on AI-aligned infrastructure. But it also carries real risk. “In shedding the unit where it is market leader, the company risks abandoning an innovative long-term growth engine while the broader telecoms market continues to flatline,” wrote Blackman.
So follow along as we track this evolving narrative — and what it means for operators, competitors, and the telco landscape.
Catherine Sbeglia Nin
Managing Editor
RCR Wireless News
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