Nokia 2011 Annual Report Download - page 50

technological and design innovations have made its brand one of the most recognized in the world.
Nokia Siemens Networks, jointly owned by Nokia and Siemens, is one of the leading global providers
of telecommunications infrastructure hardware, software and services.
For 2011, our net sales were EUR 38.7 billion (USD 50.2 billion), and we had an operating loss of
EUR 1.1 billion (USD 1.4 billion). At the end of 2011, we employed 130 050 people, of which 73 686
were employed by Nokia Siemens Networks.
We operate a global network of production facilities for mobile products and network infrastructure in
eight countries, as well as a global network of sales, customer service and other operational units. For
mobile products, we have sales in more than 160 countries. Nokia has made significant investments
into research and development and has been one of the leading innovators in the industry over the
past two decades. For mobile products, we operate several major research and development and
software development facilities, with key sites in China, Finland, Germany and the United States.
History
During our 147 year history, Nokia has evolved from its origins in the paper industry to become a world
leader in mobile communications. Today, Nokia brings mobile products and services to more than one
billion people from virtually every demographic segment of the population.
The key milestones in our history are as follows:
• In 1967, we took our current form as Nokia Corporation under the laws of the Republic of
Finland. This was the result of the merger of three Finnish companies: Nokia AB, a wood-pulp
mill founded in 1865; Finnish Rubber Works Ltd, a manufacturer of rubber boots, tires and
other rubber products founded in 1898; and Finnish Cable Works Ltd, a manufacturer of
telephone and power cables founded in 1912.
• We entered the telecommunications equipment market in 1960 when an electronics
department was established at Finnish Cable Works to concentrate on the production of
radio-transmission equipment.
• Regulatory and technological reforms have played a role in our success. Deregulation of the
European telecommunications industries since the late 1980s stimulated competition and
boosted customer demand.
• In 1982, we introduced the first fully-digital local telephone exchange in Europe, and in that
same year we introduced the world’s first car phone for the Nordic Mobile Telephone analog
standard.
• The technological breakthrough of GSM, which made more efficient use of frequencies and
had greater capacity in addition to high-quality sound, was followed by the European
resolution in 1987 to adopt GSM as the European digital standard by July 1, 1991.
• The first GSM call was made with a Nokia phone over the Nokia-built network of a Finnish
operator called Radiolinja in 1991, and in the same year Nokia won contracts to supply GSM
networks in other European countries.
• In the early 1990s, we made a strategic decision to make telecommunications our core
business, with the goal of establishing leadership in every major global market. Basic industry
and non-telecommunications operations—including paper, personal computer, rubber,
footwear, chemicals, power plant, cable, aluminum and television businesses—were divested
during the period from 1989 to 1996.
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