WhereIsAtlas · Telecommunications

Nokia

From the world's biggest phone maker to the pipes behind 5G

Transformed — Sold its phone business in 2013; now a 5G network-infrastructure giant.

Nokia began in 1865 as a wood-pulp mill on the Nokianvirta river in Finland. A century of pivots — rubber boots, cables, televisions — eventually led to mobile phones, and by 1998 Nokia was the world's largest handset maker. For a decade its devices were the default of modern life: the 3310, 'Connecting People', and a global share that briefly topped 40 percent.

The company misread the smartphone revolution. It clung to Symbian, bet the company on Windows Phone in 2011, and in 2013 sold its devices division to Microsoft for €5.4 billion — a fraction of its former value. Microsoft later wrote off most of the purchase.

The Nokia that remains is a different animal: a telecommunications-equipment leader employing around 86,000 people, building the radio, cloud and 5G infrastructure used by carriers worldwide, and licensing its patents to virtually every phone maker on Earth.

Timeline

  1. 1865 — A paper mill is born: Mining engineer Fredrik Idestam opens a wood-pulp mill near the town of Nokia, Finland. (Tampere)
  2. 1982 — First car phone: Nokia launches the Mobira Senator car phone, entering the mobile era in earnest.
  3. 1994 — 'Connecting People': The Nokia 2110 launches with the ringtone and slogan that will define a generation.
  4. 1998 — World's largest phone maker: Nokia overtakes Motorola, beginning a 14-year reign as global handset leader.
  5. 2007 — The iPhone arrives: Apple redefines the phone. Nokia's Symbian software starts to look obsolete almost overnight.
  6. Feb 2011 — Burning platform: CEO Stephen Elop's memo declares Nokia on a 'burning platform' and pivots to Windows Phone.
  7. Sep 2013 — Phones division sold: Nokia sells its devices business to Microsoft for €5.4 billion; the Lumia era begins without it.
  8. 2015 — Alcatel-Lucent deal: A €15.6 billion acquisition makes Nokia a top-tier network-equipment champion.
  9. Today — A 5G infrastructure giant: Nokia supplies 5G radio and cloud infrastructure to hundreds of carriers and holds key patents licensed industry-wide.

Quick facts

Founded
1865, Tampere, Finland
Founder
Fredrik Idestam
Peak handset share
≈ 40% (2007–08)
Phones sold to Microsoft
€5.4B (2013)
Employees today
≈ 86,000
Current focus
5G & network infrastructure

Lineage — where the name went

Nokia is the strangest origin story in technology: a Finnish paper mill that became the world's biggest phone maker, sold its phones, and is now a network equipment company. The phone brand outlived the phone business.

  1. 1865 — Fredrik Idestam founded Nokia (a paper mill that gave its name to a country's biggest company)
  2. 1981 — Nokia created Mobira
  3. 1994 — Nokia created Nokia 2110
  4. 1998 — Nokia created Symbian (a joint venture Nokia came to dominate)
  5. 2013 — Nokia spun off Nokia Devices & Services (the phones division, carved out for sale)
  6. 2013 — Nokia Devices & Services acquired by Microsoft (about €5.4bn)
  7. 2015 — Nokia acquired Alcatel-Lucent (€15.6bn)
  8. 2016 — HMD Global acquired Nokia Devices & Services (bought Microsoft's feature-phone business and took a licence to the Nokia brand)

Entities in this tree: Fredrik Idestam (person, 1865); Nokia (company, 1967); Mobira (product, 1981); Nokia 2110 (product, 1994); Symbian (product, 1998); Nokia Devices & Services (company, 2013); Microsoft (company, 2013); Alcatel-Lucent (company, 2015); HMD Global (company, 2016)

Sources

  1. Wikipedia: Nokia — Wikipedia (2026-01-10)
  2. Nokia sells phone business to Microsoft — Reuters (2026-01-04)
  3. Nokia corporate history — Nokia (2026-01-04)

Related: sony · technics · kodak · ericsson mobile · huawei · motorola