Nokia (NOK) Upgrades WING, Adds 5G And MEC Capabilities

In order to ease the complexity of large scale IoT adoption, Nokia (HE:NOKIA) Corporation (NYSE:NOK) recently upgraded its much-acclaimed Worldwide IoT Network Grid (“WING”) managed service platform with the addition of cutting-edge 5G and Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC) capabilities. The strategic move is likely to aid the global enterprise customer base with low-latency and secured network connectivity, especially at a time when majority of communication service providers (CSPs) migrate toward experience-driven and automated 5G network operations.

Markedly, Nokia is focused on its strategy that centers on four priorities. The first priority is to lead in high-performance end-to-end networks with its CSP customers. The second priority is based on its relentless pursuit to expand network sales to select vertical markets, specifically energy, transportation, public sector, technical extra-large enterprises and webscale players. Building a strong standalone software business remains the third strategic priority. The fourth pillar aims to create new business and licensing opportunities in the consumer ecosystem.

WING is a managed service platform that enables operators to support enterprise customers with seamless IoT connectivity globally. Specifically designed to serve multiple customers with a single database, the ‘one-stop shop’ networking technology is equipped with a flexible pay-as-you-go pricing model, which effectively ensures economies of scale. It provides ready-to-deploy vertical IoT solutions to eliminate business and technology complexity, and accelerate operator revenues with minimized risk and capital investment. Incorporated with best-in-class MEC capabilities, WING also supports several IoT services such as cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) and AR/VR maintenance use cases.

Apart from leveraging new business models, WING has also been upgraded with avant-garde 5G capabilities to offer reliable, secure and cost-effective 5G IoT services to address ultra-low latency and high-throughput data connectivity requirements of several operators and customers. The revamped 5G infrastructure will primarily serve critical services industries such as healthcare, transportation and manufacturing. Notably, with the emergence of rapid technological investments, the upgrade is considered to be the need of the hour and to make this transition easier, the Finnish vendor has also taken necessary steps for the establishment of a 5G WING lab in Dallas, TX. Armed with top-notch connectivity solutions, the lab will be used by the operators to test various 5G IoT services.

Considered to be among a select few vendors with a globally available end-to-end product portfolio of 5G network elements, Nokia has been working to build a robust scalable software business and expand it to structurally attractive enterprise adjacencies. It has reached more than 66 commercial 5G contracts across the globe with 19 live networks. The company’s 5G technology has been contracted by all four nationwide operators in the United States, all three in South Korea and all three in Japan. Much of this solid momentum can be attributed to the company’s well-built foundation of mutual trust and confidence from the existing pool of customers that enabled seamless transition from 4G to 5G.

Currently, the company is expanding business into targeted, high-growth and high-margin vertical markets to address several opportunities beyond its primary markets. It had earlier announced plans to accelerate strategy execution, sharpen customer focus and reduce long-term costs. This, in turn, should help the company to position itself as a global leader in the delivery of end-to-end 5G solutions. However, competitive pressure from arch-rivals — Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) and Huawei and macroeconomic dynamics, are likely to create near-term pressure for the Finnish vendor.

Nokia’s shares have decreased 60.2% compared with the industry’s decline of 13.6% in the past year. The Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock topped earnings estimates twice in the trailing four quarters but missed the same in the remaining quarters, delivering a positive surprise of 87.5%, on average.

A few better-ranked stocks in the industry are Comtech Telecommunications Corp. (NASDAQ:CMTL) and PCTEL, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCTI) , each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Comtech exceeded estimates in the trailing four quarters, the positive earnings surprise being 85.9%, on average.

PCTEL surpassed estimates in the trailing four quarters, the positive earnings surprise being 108.9%, on average.

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