Nokia Clears US Regulatory Hurdle for Home Networking Gear and Rewards Employees with Stock

Nokia secures FCC waiver for home broadband devices, enabling uninterrupted US carrier deployments; shares up 116% YTD and near highs.

Nokia has secured a crucial regulatory exemption from the US Federal Communications Commission for its home broadband devices, removing a potential roadblock for network buildouts just as the Finnish group continues to reward its workforce with equity. The FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau granted a conditional waiver on May 18, 2026, exempting Nokia’s Beacons and Optical Network Terminals from the agency’s Covered List — a restriction that limits the use of foreign-made consumer Wi-Fi routers in the United States.

The decision covers not only current equipment but also future variants, giving US carriers the green light to keep deploying Nokia’s broadband gear without interruption. That’s a significant operational win: millions of American households already rely on these devices, and a disruption would have derailed ongoing fiber and high-speed internet rollouts. As part of the agreement, Nokia has pledged to manufacture its next-generation Wi-Fi 8 gateways on US soil — a commitment that should smooth future regulatory reviews and deepen its ties with American network operators.

The regulatory progress comes as Nokia’s stock has been on a tear. The shares have more than doubled since the start of the year, with a gain of roughly 116% year-to-date. On the day of the FCC announcement, Nokia traded at EUR 12.02, hovering about 4% below its 2026 high set on May 13. That rally has inevitably attracted some profit-taking. On a recent Wednesday, the stock slipped 0.98% to EUR 11.64, though it still sits 30.11% higher over the past month. The current price is approximately 7% off the recent peak, leaving room for further upside if catalysts emerge.

Amid this buoyant market backdrop, Nokia has also been executing routine corporate housekeeping tied to employee compensation. The company transferred 975,289 of its own shares to participants of share-based incentive programs, without receiving any consideration in return. The move follows a board resolution announced on October 2, 2025, and is standard practice for locking in management and key technical talent — especially critical in the fiercely competitive infrastructure and networking space. After the transfer, Nokia still holds 132,353,333 treasury shares, which can be used for future compensation plans, buybacks, or other corporate purposes, though no new buyback or dividend has been signaled.

Technically, the stock shows signs of consolidation rather than exhaustion. The relative strength index sits at 49.4, indicating neither overbought nor oversold conditions. Nokia’s shares remain well above their medium-term moving averages, suggesting the recent dip is more of a pause than a trend reversal. The FCC exemption strengthens Nokia’s position in the US fixed-network market at a time when broadband deployment enjoys strong political and economic tailwinds, potentially opening the door to long-term contracts with American carriers. For now, the next major price move will depend more on order intake, margin trends, and commentary on network demand than on either the share transfer or the regulatory approval — but both developments contribute to a narrative of operational stability and strategic execution.