Alcatel wants to be the big cheese in the 3G market. The company announced today that it is buying Nortel’s UMTS business for about $320 million. If Lucent-merger made Alcatel a big player in the CDMA market, the Nortel deal gives it more heft in the post-GSM 3G market. I like the new Nortel CEO – he is saying it like it really is.
“Nortel is sharpening its focus on the markets in which we intend to lead. Our UMTS access business lacks the scale and momentum needed to become profitable,” said Mike Zafirovski, president and chief executive officer, Nortel.
I just can not figure out what Mike Zafirovski means when he says “Nortel is sharpening its focus on the markets in which we intend to lead.” Intend to lead??????????
CDMA 2000 and Class five switching 😉
This is a sensible move for Nortel – focus on markets that you have sufficient market share to move to a leadership position in or that you already lead in; this is what will drive the profitability.