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By Bloomberg

Nokia Oyj unveiled a data-center package that allows phone carriers to use networks more efficiently as mobile traffic surges.

The server, switch and service plan, dubbed Airframe, can be plugged into existing networks, said the Finnish company, which forecasts that the first sales will come in the fourth quarter. The product handles data in a more decentralized way, with carriers using new business models such as renting data center capacity to their customers, Nokia said in an e-mailed statement.

Nokia and network-gear rival Ericsson AB are trying to be more than just suppliers of base stations and antennas, taking on companies such as International Business Machines Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co. by offering cloud-computing products and services.

Nokia agreed to buy Alcatel-Lucent SA in April to transform itself into one of the biggest makers of equipment that underpins wireless networks. The company is seeking to curb costs and boost research-and-development efforts.

The rapid growth in mobile data traffic will continue, Nokia said in its release. The Espoo, Finland-based company forecasts global growth of 40 percent annually through 2025, with each mobile broadband customer using multiple gigabytes of data daily and more than 50 billion connected things such as devices, modules and sensors.