Nokia to launch wireless data unit

Mobile computing giant Nokia today announced the creation of a new business unit targeted at servicing the wireless data delivery needs of enterprise and service provider customers.

The Nokia Internet Communications division, which will officially launch 1 October, is made up of three separate units: Nokia Wireless Business Communications, Wireless Software Solutions and IP Application and Connectivity Platforms. "We believe that Nokia Internet Communications will further strengthen our relationship with the enterprise market and Internet service providers," Nokia President Pekka Ala-Pietila said.

Nokia is the third major telecommunications equipment provider to fold its wireless systems into its data communications divisions in the past month. Earlier this summer, both Ericsson and Nortel Networks announced restructuring moves centred around their wireless product lines.

Analysts say that the trend is an indication of the blending of the lines between different methods for access information. Just as service providers are moving voice and data into a single infrastructure to reduce operational overhead, carriers are fortifying traditional transmission equipment with the ability to transmit data sent over wireless links.

T. Kent Elliott will head Nokia's new division.