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Nokia Siemens Networks betting on mobile broadband
Mobile broadband and services will be the new targets for Nokia Siemens Networks.
The company is looking to slash production overheads and operating expenses by an annual total of €1 billion (£862 million), with these savings partly coming from the loss of approximately 17,000 jobs.
In a strategy update outlining its plans for the future, NSN explained it will concentrate on delivering end-to-end mobile network infrastructure with a particular emphasis on mobile broadband.
Rajeev Suri, chief executive of the telecommunications infrastructure solutions firm, said NSN is aiming to become the "undisputed leader" in these areas.
To achieve this target, he admitted the company will need to take certain "necessary steps" to contend with the current challenging condition of the telecoms market.
"Our goal is to provide the world's most efficient mobile networks, the intelligence to maximise the value of those networks and the services capability to make it all work seamlessly," Mr Suri added.
"Despite the need to restructure parts of our company, our commitment to research and development remains unchanged, with investment in mobile broadband expected to increase over the coming years."
Mobile Europe, which claimed to have seen an internal email from NSN, revealed several of the company's units are facing the axe as part of the restructuring programme.
Among the arms that will be "targeted for exit or put in maintenance mode" are fixed-line voice over internet protocol, broadband access, carrier Ethernet and WiMAX, the message stated.
Illustrating the growing importance of mobile broadband, Ericsson predicted earlier this month that subscriptions will grow from 900 million by the end of this year to just under five billion in 2016.
By that year, around 60 per cent of the world's mobile data traffic will be generated by consumers living on less than one per cent of the Earth's total land area, it claimed.