Nokia wins first 5G radio contract in China

[STOCKHOLM] Nokia on Monday won its first 5G radio contract in China, securing a share in one of China Mobile's three new 5G contracts, while Nordic rival Ericsson lost market share after getting caught up in a political spat.

As is customary, Chinese companies took the lion's share of the order. Huawei took a majority share in all three contracts, followed by ZTE, according to a document published by China Mobile.

Ericsson had been expected to be awarded a lower share of China's 5G roll-out after Sweden decided to exclude Chinese vendors from its own networks.

Nokia, which didn't secure any 5G radio contracts in China last year, got a 10 per cent share in one of the three contracts, while Ericsson got 9.6 per cent of another contract.

China's other two largest telecom operators - China Telecom and China Unicom - will soon announce winners of the second phase of the 5G contracts.

REUTERS