Sunday, June 28, 2009

Gartner: Nokia Siemens Networks has bid for part of Nortel's wireless division. The deal adds value for CDMA and LTE carrier customers.

[gartner] This announcement marks the first major step in Nortel's efforts to emerge from creditor protection by selling off business units and restructuring. Gartner expects the deal to be completed — although other bidders have 45 days to put in higher offers, in accordance with the terms of Nortel's creditor protection.

Carriers including Verizon Wireless, Telus, Bell Mobility and Videotron have chosen Nokia Siemens Networks for recent contracts in the areas of LTE and IP Multimedia Subsystem, High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) and High-Speed Packet Access Evolution (HSPA+). Nortel engineers have expertise in these areas and can add to Nokia Siemens Networks' expertise in GSM, W-CDMA and WiMAX. This combined knowledge will help support carrier network transformation initiatives, particularly by ensuring seamless handoffs between LTE and CDMA. We expect support for Nortel's flagship wireless products to be safe with Nokia Siemens Networks and for contracts to be honored.

The sale to Nokia Siemens Networks will generate $650 million, a significant addition to Nortel's $2.7 billion in cash. The money may be used for continuing operations or to pay down debt. Nortel's remaining assets include LG-Nortel, enterprise solutions, carrier voice switching, metro Ethernet and optical solutions, and its remaining wireless technologies in GSM and 3G UMTS core switching. Customers in these Nortel product areas must wait for the next set of announcements, as they have since Nortel entered creditor protection in January 2009.

Bid for Wireless Assets Means Big Changes for Nortel Customers

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