Nokia is a prime mover in digital standards

On July 1, 1991, Finnish Prime Minister Harri Holkeri made the world’s first GSM call, using Nokia equipment.

It was an appropriate choice. From the start, Nokia was one of the key developers of GSM technology. Its expertise in the new standard, coupled with the deregulation of European telecommunications markets in the 1980s and 1990s, was to be the cornerstone of its international success.

What is GSM?

The Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) was adopted in 1987 as the European standard for digital mobile technology. This second generation mobile technology could carry data as well as voice traffic.

GSM’s high-quality voice calls, easy international roaming and support for new services like text messaging (SMS) laid the foundations for a worldwide boom in mobile phone use.

Nokia was in the vanguard of GSM’s development, delivering its first GSM network to the Finnish company Radiolinja in 1989. Nokia launched its first digital handheld GSM phone, the Nokia 1011, in 1992.

By the end of the 1990s, Nokia had supplied GSM systems to more than 90 operators all over the world.

Did you know?

Nokia was the first manufacturer to make a series of handheld portable phones for all major digital standards, including TDMA, PCN and Japan Digital, as well as GSM.