Alcatel is still hungry

Alcatel is still hungry. Lucent is not enough to satisfy Alcatel' s appetite. Perhaps, before the merger with Lucent, Alcatel could sign a deal with Nortel to buy its UMTS business. For Alcatel it should be a good opporunity to reinforce its position in this market, where it only has a 6% market share and where Nortel is given a 10% market share. Nortel said its UMTS (3G) wireless business will operate as a separate business unit from its GSM business. It could be a first step before selling the business.

In another move to increase its mobile position, Alcatel is buying Fujitsu’s remaining 34% stake in the UMTS joint-venture, Evolium, which the two companies formed in 2000.