Helsinki, March 3, 2026, 13:19 EET — Regular session
- Nokia slipped roughly 1.3% in Helsinki on this day, giving back a portion of the 5.3% it picked up just yesterday.
- New AI partnerships with Google Cloud, Deutsche Telekom, and TIM Brasil dropped at MWC Barcelona.
- Nokia’s annual report lands this week, with first-quarter results set for April 23—investors are watching both.
Nokia Oyj (NOKIA.HE) slipped around 1.3% to 6.74 euros in Helsinki as of 1319 EET Tuesday, giving back some ground after surging 5.3% in the prior session.
Nokia’s move throws fresh attention on its efforts to convert its AI ambitions into actual sales. Telecom operators are still searching for reasons to defend their 5G investments, while equipment suppliers chase after software-driven income. The company has positioned its AI tech as a fresh revenue channel in the same arena where it goes head-to-head with Sweden’s Ericsson.
Mobile World Congress in Barcelona—set for March 2-5—usually sets off a flurry of deal chatter, and this year is no different. News headlines are hitting fast. Traders rush in, decisions flying before questions.
Nokia on Tuesday announced that additional telecom operators have joined its Network as Code programme, which offers network functions via APIs—software “hooks” that enable apps to request things like identity verification. The company also pointed to ongoing collaboration with Google Cloud, aiming to connect those APIs with what it calls “agentic” AI capable of executing actions. Nokia executive Shkumbin Hamiti described the partnerships as “a major step” in changing how developers engage with networks. Nokia Corporation | Nokia
Google Cloud says it wants to push past basic API calls, rolling out AI agents—powered by its Gemini models and agent tools—that can actually watch over and fine-tune parts of a network. “The network is no longer a bottleneck or a black box,” wrote Blocksport CEO Vladimir Liulka in a post on Google Cloud’s site. Over at Deutsche Telekom, Dr. Chathurangi Wickramasinghe called an intuitive developer experience “critical” for building monetisable network API services. Google Cloud
Nokia on Monday announced plans to ramp up its work with TIM Brasil, adding 14 more states to their 5G network upgrade—an expansion expected to reach about 42% of Brazil’s population. The effort will tap Nvidia’s AI-RAN platform, bringing artificial intelligence into the radio access network. “Networks must evolve to be truly AI-native,” said Nokia CEO Justin Hotard, emphasizing how AI is already changing traffic patterns. Nokia Corporation | Nokia
Nokia and Deutsche Telekom on Monday announced they’re expanding their “Innovation Cooperation Program” in a bid to accelerate work on cloud-based and disaggregated RAN — that’s the gear linking mobile devices to cell towers. The push leans heavily on Open RAN, which aims to give operators the freedom to mix hardware from multiple suppliers. “A fundamental shift,” is how Nokia’s Pallavi Mahajan described AI-native RAN, while Abdurazak Mudesir at Deutsche Telekom pointed to the goal of “multi-vendor flexibility at scale.” Nokia Corporation | Nokia
Still, the risks aren’t hard to see. Those splashy partnerships unveiled at major trade shows? Turning them into substantial orders can drag on. Operators trying to roll out Open RAN at broad scale keep hitting integration headaches. And if telco budgets tighten up, a chunk of that AI upside might just sit in pilot programs, stuck there longer than the optimists assume.
Nokia is about to hit a string of key dates: its 2025 annual report drops the week of March 2, AGM lands April 9, then first-quarter results roll out April 23. Fresh numbers and commentary could show if anything from MWC moved the needle on near-term performance.
