Q&A: Nokia's plans for free Satnav domination
We spoke to Rupert Englander, head of services marketing for Nokia, about the mobile giant's plans to bundle free navigation software with all its handsets.


For those that haven't seen the news, what's happened or about to happen?
The primary message is that Nokia is making navigation free. Consumers can download maps to their phones that gives them free global sat nav for either driving or walking. It includes, in the UK, Lonely Planet, Michelin and Facebook.
It will be included in 10 devices at launch and we'll be rolling it out to a whole series of devices in the coming weeks. We're going to support a whole host of handsets coming off the production line, which is a massive logistics and operational challenge so to launch with 10 is a great result anyway and we want to continue that the N97 will be coming on 28 January.
Free is always good, but what's the catch?
The point is we want to drive scale in the number of people using mobile navigation, be it for walking or driving.
We are obviously the number one handset manufacturer globally so we can bring that scale to fruition through this sort of activity. Rather than making money out of a small number, [we'll be] making a small amount of money from a larger number, so we're flipping the economics.
There's also a huge monetisation opportunity for developers as well as advertising and a variety of mediums. At the moment, the principle focus is on driving scale. We're democratising sat nav for people so we can reach a much bigger audience.
Get the ITPro daily newsletter
Sign up today and you will receive a free copy of our Future Focus 2025 report - the leading guidance on AI, cybersecurity and other IT challenges as per 700+ senior executives
So why is the time right for this now?
We've been doing navigation on phones for about two years now and we've certainly seen good growth from this in a paid-for situation. However, I think now we can really accelerate that growth and reduce that barrier.
Maggie has been a journalist since 1999, starting her career as an editorial assistant on then-weekly magazine Computing, before working her way up to senior reporter level. In 2006, just weeks before ITPro was launched, Maggie joined Dennis Publishing as a reporter. Having worked her way up to editor of ITPro, she was appointed group editor of CloudPro and ITPro in April 2012. She became the editorial director and took responsibility for ChannelPro, in 2016.
Her areas of particular interest, aside from cloud, include management and C-level issues, the business value of technology, green and environmental issues and careers to name but a few.
-
LaunchDarkly to "double down" on observability with Highlight acquisition
News Highlight's observability tools will be integrated into LaunchDarkly's Guarded Releases software deployment service
By Daniel Todd
-
Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE review
Reviews The Tab S10 FE retains the feel and core capabilities of Samsung's high-end S10 tablets, but compromises on the display and the performance
By Stuart Andrews
-
Nokia hails success of Europe’s first commercial 5G cloud RAN deployment
News Elise says its 5G cloud network puts it in a strong position during a move towards 6G
By Emma Woollacott
-
Kyndryl and Nokia extend partnership to drive data center networking gains
News The companies plan to offer more data center networking options aimed at enterprise customers
By Emma Woollacott
-
Dell and Nokia expand strategic partnership to drive network cloud transformation
News The companies will leverage each other’s expertise and distribution to scale telecom networks and private 5G use cases
By Daniel Todd
-
Nokia and Google score breakthrough in Android 13 network slicing
News Nokia's solution will allow devices to connect to multiple network slices simultaneously, provided by existing 4G and 5G operators
By Rory Bathgate
-
Nokia wins Indosat contract to expand 5G across Indonesia
News The deal will bring next-gen communication technology to customers across a 1.4 million square kilometre area
By Praharsha Anand
-
Nokia and Ligado partner on 4G, 5G enterprise private network
News Nokia will leverage Ligado’s Band 24 spectrum to reach the US enterprise market
By Praharsha Anand
-
The IT Pro Products of the Year 2021: The year’s best hardware and software
Best Our pick of the best products from the past 12 months
By IT Pro
-
Nokia T20 review: A simple, sturdy Android tablet at an SMB-friendly price
Reviews It’s not as luxurious as an iPad, but the T20 makes a fine, functional tablet for business
By Darien Graham-Smith