Nokia Siemens targets Ericsson for #1 slot

Perhaps to deflect thoughts from the dismal market conditions, the new head of radio access at Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN), Marc Rouanne, said he was aiming to overhaul the major competitor, Ericsson, and become the market leader in radio access equipment. Claiming to be a 'strong #2' today (despite its poor recent financial results), Rouanne was unclear how NSN would achieve market dominance, apart from stating that it would not be through price cutting. "There are a number of paths to number one," was the enigmatic viewpoint.

Rouanne conceded that achieving #1 might take a little time, "but we're giving ourselves time for that. We want to be best in revenues, but it has to be with good margins." In terms of market expansion, Rouanne pointed out the U.S. and Japan as the two key markets where he wants Nokia Siemens to have a bigger presence. As a proof point for NSN's ability to take the radio access top spot, the company claimed that it has replaced 18,000 base stations, both 2G and 3G, from other vendors at 22 customers in 15 countries during the past 14 months.

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