16 November 2008

Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo
On The Company's Big Plans To Grow In US

During a recent visit to Boston, Nokia's chief executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo spoke with Hiawatha Bray from 'The Boston Globe'

In a short but quite interesting interview Kallasvuo talked about their current position and the big plans for the US market, as well as about future of wireless broadband data services, mobile operating systems and some general questions about mobile gaming.

Despite the company's big plans, Nokia does face an uphill battle against well entrenched rivals and failing embarrassingly and miserably in the US.

Q: Nokia has 40 percent of the world's cellphone market, but just 6 percent of the US market. How could that happen?

A: It's quite useful to remember here the nature of the US market. We are only ramping up now our presence with Verizon. So the market that has been open to us has not been 100 percent of the market, but has been about 50 percent.

Q: But is Nokia now getting more aggressive in the US?

A: We are investing more in the US market. We are expanding our research and development activity in San Diego. We've got lots of people there designing phones now that are specific to the US needs and the US market.

Q: Sales of smartphones like the Apple iPhone have been booming. Are all cellphones destined to become little handheld computers?

A: There are different consumer segments that prefer different types of phones. Some people are happy with the basic communication functionality. Voice is enough for some people. Then there are some other people who really want to explore the different functionalities that are available. We need to be able to offer solutions to all of these people. One size will not fit all. Hence our strategy is to offer phones to all consumer segments, in all markets.

In that way, our strategy basically differs from the strategies of the competition, who typically are targeting or concentrating on some segments or areas or price points in the marketplace. We will go for all markets, all price points, all segments. We are the market leader in smartphones. Our approach is based on the Symbian operating system. We are now, together with our partners, making it fully open . . . to everybody who wants to use the Symbian operating system.

Q: It sounds similar to Google's strategy of introducing the Android operating system for phones, then encouraging developers to write software for it.

We have had that for 10 years. Definitely, we are ahead.

Q: Cellphone carriers offer 3G data services, but even faster 4G is on the way. The two leading 4G technologies are WiMax and Long Term Evolution, or LTE. Which one is Nokia backing?

A: We are supporting LTE . . . that remains a core investment to us. But having said that, we are also supporting other technologies that will have a major position in the marketplace. As a market leader, you need to be somewhat agnostic. If there's a major market, you should enter and make the best out of it.

If I look at the competition, they are either smaller or in a niche. Our strategy is to go for all relevant markets. One size will not fit all for mobile communications.

Five things to know about Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo

1. His first mobile phone weighed five pounds.
2. He currently uses the Nokia E71.
3. His favorite book is "Catch-22."
4. His role model is former Finland President Martti Ahtisaari, winner of the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize.
5. The company he most admires is Procter & Gamble.