Qualcomm decides to sell its infrastructure division to archrival Ericsson.
VLSI rejects Philips’
takeover bid, but says it will explore others.
Four Canadian carriers join forces.
Cable & Wireless and MediaOne
Group look at alternatives for their jointly owned carrier, One 2 One.
You had better be careful which company you
are criticizing today. Tomorrow, you may work for them.
As the telecom industry continues its crazy consolidation
pace-I mean, really, all this happened in one week-I feel like I’m covering a sports draft rather than the business world.
And in Round 3, Qualcomm’s infrastructure group goes to Ericsson in exchange for CDMA patents and future 3G
peace. Someone should be selling score cards so we can keep track.
The big news this week, of course, is that
former enemies Qualcomm and Ericsson reached several agreements, all of which are probably good for the
industry.
I admire Ericsson for buying its way into the CDMA business. Ericsson has conceded CDMA is a viable
technology, and as such, the company wasn’t content to sit around and watch market share slip away.
I imagine
selling its infrastructure unit was a little more heart-wrenching for Qualcomm CEO Irwin Jacobs.
What decision is
best for the employees? What decision is best for shareholders? What is best for the company? What is best for the
industry? What happens to the employees/shareholders/company/industry if I do nothing?
But behind all the trades,
mergers, acquisitions and alliances are people-actual people with husbands and wives and children, with dentist’s bills
to pay and birthday presents already bought, with mortgages and college loans. Actual people whose world’s have been
upset. This week’s merger/sale/partnership actually may be the best thing that ever happened to some workers. For
others, no doubt, it will be among the worst. Either way, like the mergers/sales/partnerships themselves, only hindsight
will reveal the good moves from the bad.
Hang in there.
