Nokia Siemens Networks expects to jump to second place in the global
wireless network equipment market for the full year 2013, ahead of
arch-rival Huawei Technologies Co, according to a top Nokia Siemens
executive.
Nokia Siemens, a venture of Finland's Nokia Oyj and Germany's Siemens AG , trails Huawei in the global mobile network equipment market, which is led by Ericsson .
The venture has had to undertake a massive restructuring this year as
it struggled to make a profit due to customer consolidation and
aggressive price competition.
But
Nokia Siemens should be able to take the No. 2 position from China's
Huawei and keep it next year, said Kenneth Wirth, the venture's head of
customer operations for the Americas and an executive board member of
Nokia Siemens, citing new contracts his company has won.
Huawei took second place from Nokia Siemens in 2010 and has held onto the position ever since, according to Dell'Oro.
Wirth
said that Nokia Siemens has won 64 contracts to supply wireless
operators equipment for network upgrades to Long Term Evolution, the
latest mobile broadband technology.
"Those contracts we've signed will start to ramp up." Wirth said. " We'll see share growth."
However,
Nokia Siemens has a long way to go to catch up with Huawei. According
to statistics from research firm Dell'Oro, Huawei's market share was
22.3 percent in the second quarter, compared with the 18.1 percent share
held by Nokia Siemens.
Market leader Ericsson has a 35.5 percent share, while Alcatel-Lucent has 14 percent.
Under
the strain of tough competition from its bigger rivals and the need to
rein in costs, Nokia Siemens had to lay off 10,000 workers in the space
of six months, cutting its work force to 63,000 people. It has also been
narrowing its business focus to its core business - network equipment
for cellular networks.
It sold off its network equipment for wired
networks and got out of the market for WiMax, a wireless technology
that has garnered much less carrier support than LTE.
As a result,
it has been generating cash and is now in better position to attract
customers who now have more confidence in Nokia Siemens' future, Wi rth
said.
"A year to a year and a half ago there were concerns about our long term viability," said Wirth.
He
noted that the company has won business in Latin America, where demand
is strong for high-speed wireless equipment. In the United States it is
supplying Verizon Wireless, the biggest wireless operator, and T-Mobile
USA, the No. 4 operator, with equipment for big network upgrade
projects.
"The machine is really starting to hum," Wirth said.
Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012