Most people who hear the word “Nokia” associate it with mobile phones and telecom, but there’s actually a convoluted history behind the company. Nokia has explored multiple lines of business since its humble beginnings over 150 years ago and in that process has reinvented itself many times over.
Nokia is much older than most people know, but it was during the last few decades that the company became known for iconic mobile devices with bold design and technology. These ranged from a simple brick-like concept to unorthodox, sophisticated, and downright ridiculous form factors. The Finnish giant took part in shaping the history of telecommunications and mobile phones, which allowed it to grow into a global household name, but eventually became calcified by its own DNA and was forced to make a series of choices that almost brought it to its knees.
Nokia still exists today, with reported revenue that can be measured in the billions and over 70,000 employees globally as of 2023, but its priorities have shifted so much over the years that it’s mostly retreated from the consumer space. Some of its former engineering spirit lives on through a different Finnish company that set up its first office right across the street from the Nokia headquarters, while other engineering talent has migrated to companies like Apple and Qualcomm. Beyond that, Nokia licenses intellectual property to third parties, and today is mostly focused on developing and selling telecom equipment for 4G and 5G networks.
This article is an exploration of Nokia’s history, from its humble beginning to becoming a dominant force in mobile technology and owning its own factories, down to a subdued presence in the approval process for a lineup of Android phones that carries only a hint of its former glory, a product line that sells moderately well thanks in no small part to a powerful nostalgia factor.
Note: This feature was originally published on September, 2021. We have revised its content and bumped it as part of our #ThrowbackThursday initiative. Check out more nostalgia features like this in our Gone But Not Forgotten series.
Dialing Back Time to Nokia’s Humble Beginnings
Nokia was founded in 1865 by Finnish mining engineer Fredrik Idestam, and started out as a simple paper mill operation in Tampere, a city located in south-western Finland. It wasn’t long before Idestam expanded this operation to the nearby town of Nokia, which is located near the Nokianvirta River. Thus the “Nokia” name was born in 1871, inspired by this location.
In 1898, Eduard Polón founded Finnish Rubber Works (also known as Suomen Gummitehdas Oy), a company that manufactured everything from rubber shoes to car tires. In 1912, Arvid Wickström founded Finnish Cable Works (also known as Suomen Kaapelitehdas Oy), which became well known for producing electric cables, telephones, and telegraphs. In 1967, both were incorporated into the Nokia Corporation, a multifaceted business that offered paper and rubber products,
