Nokia 2007 Annual Report Download - page 27

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 has 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 analogue
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.
• Mobile communications evolved rapidly during the 1990s and early 2000s, creating new
opportunities for devices in entertainment and enterprise use. This trend—where mobile
devices increasingly support the features of singlepurposed product categories such as music
players, cameras, pocketable computers and gaming consoles—is often referred to as digital
convergence.
• Nokia Siemens Networks began operations on April 1, 2007. The company, jointly owned by
Nokia and Siemens and consolidated by Nokia, combines Nokia’s networks business and
Siemens’ carrierrelated operations for fixed and mobile networks.
Organizational structure
From January 1, 2004 through March 31, 2007, we had four business groups—Mobile Phones,
Multimedia, Enterprise Solutions and Networks—supported and serviced by two horizontal groups,
Customer and Market Operations and Technology Platforms, in addition to various Corporate
Functions. On April 1, 2007, Nokia’s Networks business group was combined with Siemens’ carrier
related operations for fixed and mobile networks to form Nokia Siemens Networks, jointly owned by
Nokia and Siemens and consolidated by Nokia.
As of January 1, 2008, our three mobile device business groups and the supporting horizontal groups
have been replaced by an integrated business segment, Devices & Services. This reorganization is
aimed at creating a structure aligned with the opportunities we see for future growth in devices and
services and to increase efficient ways of working across the company. Under this new structure we
conduct and manage our devices and services business in an integrated manner through:
•
Devices , responsible for developing the best device portfolio for the marketplace, including
sourcing of components;
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