The media account includes £22m in the UK and will be handled by Carat from September.
The Aegis agency network fought off competition from Publicis Groupe's ZenithOptimedia, Mediabrands' UM and Omnicom's PHD in the three-month pitch process.
Yet, despite reports to the contrary, MediaCom still had a chance of retaining the large account after entering into a series of negotiations before the official review was called.
According to sources, the agency, which currently handles Nokia's media business in Europe, Asia and the US, submitted one presentation with its "absolute lowest-possible margins" but declined to participate in the official review process.
The review was led by Pekka Rantala, senior vice president and global head of marketing at Nokia, who said the company was looking for an agency that offered "digital media excellence".
Rantala added: "We believe that innovation will be an important component to improve the effectiveness of media communications in the future."
Carat's appointment follows a review of all of Nokia's marketing services in the last year, which has resulted in Wieden & Kennedy winning its global advertising account for its Nseries range and Aegis Group's Isobar and US incumbent R/GA splitting its global digital advertising business.
Nokia is the world's largest handset manufacturer, with 38.6% of the market. Last night, it officially launched its latest N97 mobile handset, with touch-screen and full QWERTY keyboard, at an event in London.
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