(Bloomberg) -- T-Mobile US Inc. said it doesn’t plan to stop purchasing network gear from Nokia Oyj, refuting an analyst’s prediction that telecom giant would switch suppliers.
“T-Mobile works with both Nokia and Ericsson, who have helped us over the years build the largest and fastest 5G network in the nation,” a company spokesperson said Tuesday in an emailed statement. “We continue to work with them on ensuring our customers have the best mobile network experience.”
Nokia shares fell the most in almost a year after Earl Lum, the president of EJL Wireless Research, made the claim in a LinkedIn post on Tuesday. Rival Ericsson AB offers superior technology and may also be in a better position to offer more attractive prices, Lum said.
Nokia has lost significant market share in the US in recent years. Lum had also predicted AT&T Inc.’s switch away from Nokia before the US telecommunications company announced last year that it had awarded Ericsson a $14 billion contract to build out a newer, more flexible “open radio access network.” Verizon Communications Inc., the other major US carrier, has also chosen Ericsson and equipment from Samsung Electronics Co. for its network.
“If Nokia were to lose T-Mobile US, it would mean that the technical turnaround promised by Nokia management in its wireless access business has failed,” analysts at JPMorgan Chase wrote in a note.
“Nokia is proud to be T-Mobile’s long-standing partner in Radio Access Networks (RAN),” the Finnish company said in an emailed-statement. “We are confident in our industry-leading portfolio which has helped us grow market share with many of our existing RAN customers as well as to win completely new ones.”
Nokia shares fell 5.7% in Helsinki, the biggest drop since December 2023, to close at €3.97. The shares have gained 30% this year.
--With assistance from Kelcee Griffis.
(updates with Nokia comment in second-to-last paragraph.)
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