Qualcomm and Teleepoch Enter Into a 3G CDMA Subscriber Unit License Agreement, October 6, 2007

MTN chooses Cambridge Broadband Networks for multi-service wireless network in Rwanda, October 6, 2007

Brazilian government to publish 3G bidding rules soon, October 6, 2007

KTF 3G service suffers from technical problems, October 6, 2007

Argentina’s Personal lunches 3G service in Rosario, October 6, 2007

Russia has it's first 3G network, October 6, 2007

AT&T could drop Alcatel-Lucent as 3G mobile network supplier, October 6, 2007

Enea Extends License Agreement with ZTE for 3G Handsets, October 2, 2007

LG to unveil premium handsets in Brazil, October 2, 2007

KTF 3G subscribers doubled in less than 3 months, October 2, 2007

3G policy in India will be non-uniform, October 2, 2007

- previous news

No Price Cuts in 2005 - Says Nokia

February 23, 2005 - source: BWCS

Putting his cards firmly on the table, Jorma Ollila, head of mobile phone giant Nokia, has stated his company will not indulge in price cuts this year. The Finnish handset maker believes that a booming Chinese market and the fact that Nokia has won back lost market share, will help it to boost sales further this year.

Ollila believes that the series of tactical price cuts in the first part of 2004 helped get his company back on track, but he does not see any need for such actions this year. In a clear message to the rest of the industry, he told reporters in China "Price cuts are not part of our (overall) strategy this year." At the same time he claimed that the reductions in price in 2004 had only a "minor impact on our margins, year-on-year."

Nokia hopes to increase its share of the global mobile phone market by increasing its production of sophisticated 3G phones. In the final quarter of 2004 the company posted better than expected profit figures and clawed its way back to claiming 34% of the world market for mobile handsets.

Despite the comfort of good recent results, 2005 is widely expected to be a tough year for the Finns and its rivals. With phone sales set to rise by only around 8%, one quarter of the growth seen last year, competition will be fierce. It will be interesting to see how long Ollila can stick to his "no price cuts" promise in the coming competitive maelstrom.

The company is pinning a lot of its growth hopes on China, where it had a strong year in 2004. The Finnish giant's net sales in the People's Republic jumped 44% to US$3.6 billion last year. The country is Nokia's second largest market, accounting for 10% of group sales last year, behind the US which made up 13% of total sales.

In spite of growing subscriber numbers in China and the promise of 3G licences being awarded soon, Nokia faces strong competition from less expensive local phones made by Ningbo Bird, TCL Technologies and many others. In a bid to counter this, the Finns say they will strengthen the company's distribution channel to include more rural areas where growth is now beginning to happen. Nokia has an estimated 19% to 22% of the Chinese market for mobile phones.