Nortel announces $320M UMTS unit sale to Alcatel

After announcing the deal back in September [1], Nortel has finally reached a definitive agreement with the newly merged Alcatel-Lucent to sell its UMTS business for $320 million. The deal includes Nortel's UMTS access portfolio: radio network controller and node B products, related services, applications, customer contracts and assets. About 1,700 of Nortel's UMTS employees will transfer to Alcatel-Lucent (I wonder how that squares with the downsizing described in today's number 5 story.) Nortel's UMTS business has been operating at a loss because of a crowded field, as well as a lack of product scalability and momentum, Nortel said.

For more on the deal:
- see this article [2] from Canada.com