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