Nokia today issued a statement reaffirming that it will not manufacture cell phones.
“Recent news reports [claim Nokia] communicated an intention to manufacture consumer handsets out of an R&D facility in China. These reports are false, and include comments incorrectly attributed to a Nokia Networks executive. Nokia reiterates it currently has no plans to manufacture or sell consumer handsets.”
The statement follows a week of conjecture concerning the company’s potential plans for cell phones moving forward. Re/Code reported that Nokia plans to design handsets and license those designs to outside manufacturers once its non-compete agreement with Microsoft expires at the end of the year.
Nokia did not contest that report. However, Re/Code’s report was later followed by others claiming Nokia was going to set up shop at a facility in China to build its own cell phones. It is those reports that Nokia says are false.
Nokia sold its handset business to Microsoft and, as part of the sale, cannot make or build cell phones. In particular, Nokia is not allowed to re-enter the handset business in any fashion until 2015, and isn’t allowed to license its brand to manufacturers for the purposes of making handsets until the third quarter of 2016.
Moreover, Nokia sold all its manufacturing facilities as part of the handset sale to Microsoft and can no longer build its own devices.
The company is more focused on its networking business. Nokia recently announced plans to acquire Alcatel-Lucent, the French-American networking giant, for $16.6 billion. Nokia may sell its HERE Maps business so it can concentrate on building its telecommunications unit.
