Nokia aims to contribute to Korea's digital transformation

Ahn Tae-ho, head of Nokia Korea, speaks during a press conference at the Josun Palace hotel in Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of Nokia Korea

By Baek Byung-yeul

Nokia is aiming to contribute to Korea's digital transformation with its innovative network products as the former mobile phone powerhouse is now fully transformed into a business-to-business (B2B) network solutions provider, according the head of its Korean branch, Thursday.

“This year, Nokia unveiled a new logo. The new logo shows that Nokia is an open company as the company's strategy is based on collaboration with its partners,” Ahn Tae-ho, head of Nokia Korea, said during a press conference in Seoul.

“Nokia focuses on B2B technology and works with a number of companies, and in Korea we work with SK Telecom, KT, LG Uplus and other companies. Specifically, we have network infrastructure, mobile networks, cloud and network services which is a software business, and a licensing business.”

During the press conference, Nokia provided an overview of Korea's 5G landscape and how it contributed to the development of the country's network industry. The company also said that the K-Network 2030 strategy being pursued by the Korean government is a perfect fit for its business, and it is ready to contribute to the digital transformation of Korean companies and the government.

The government announced the K-Network 2030 strategy last September, envisioning for Korea to lead the way in future network technologies, including 6G networks, quantum networks, low-orbit satellite communications and Open RAN, which allows equipment from different wireless network manufacturers to work together.

“In the Korean market, customers remember Nokia as just a mobile phone maker, but the LTE and 5G network services they are using have been available on our network equipment. We supplied LTE equipment to LG Uplus in 2010 and have since supplied equipment to three mobile carriers. Since then, we have continued to work with Korean companies and demonstrated the world's first 5G network with KT at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, and have been supplying 5G equipment to mobile carriers ever since,” Nokia Korea CTO Han Hyo-chan said.

“Nokia is making progress in line with all the strategies included in K-Network 2030.”