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A Nortel mystery: What happens to its next-generation wireless technology?

Nortel

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RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. – What is management at bankrupt Nortel up to as it prepares to sell off the former telecom giant’s remnants? Will a much smaller, much more tightly focused telecommunications gear maker survive and emerge with a focus on the next generation of wireless technology?

Telecom industry news source Light Reading believes that Nortel Chief Executive Officer Mike Zafirovski is hanging on to “long term evolution,” or LTE, patents even as the company pursues plans to sell most of its wireless assets to Nokia Siemens.

Around that intellectual property, will Mr. Z build a new company?

In the sad story of Nortel’s meltdown toward final breakup, who can really say what is on the CEO’s mind?

Creditors were  back in bankruptcy court Monday in New Jersey to fight Nortel’s proposed $650 million sale of other assets to rival Nokia Siemens Networks. Creditors have complained that an auction set up for the sale gives favorable status to Nokia. The judges ruled in Nortel's favor, setting an auction for July 24.

More court proceedings could shed light on an hitherto hidden Nortel LTE agenda.

Nortel “isn't selling quite as much to Nokia Siemens Networks as might have first appeared, as the Canadian vendor is holding on to some key patents related to LTE, the all-important proto-4G technology that's set to power the world's next-generation mobile networks,” Light Reading reported Friday.

Based on a review of the proposed Nokia-Nortel deal, Light Reading said Nokia “isn’t buying any key LTE-related (intellectual property)” but is focused on older CDMA (code division multiple access) technology.

The LTE patents concern patents for orthogonal frequency division (OFDMA) and multiple input, multiple output (MIMO), which Patrick Donegan, an analyst at Heavy Reading, said Nortel has considered “among its crown jewels.”

Nortel declined comment to Light Reading beyond what it had said in a press release. Nokia Siemens did tell Light reading that if the deal is done it would “be in a position to use the technologies you refer to” but declined further comment.

“In other words, NSN is set to license, but not acquire, the LTE-related IPR from Nortel,” Light Reading said.

If Nortel keeps its LTE property, Light Reading said a possible play could be a packaging of the technology as “5G” – leapfrogging the move to faster 4G technology that’s really just now getting underway.

“So here's a thought to consider,” wrote Ray Le Maistre, International News Editor at Light reading. “Nortel could sell all its current business lines and then emerge from bankruptcy protection with some IPR and a new next-generation wireless business plan.”

The Skinny

WRAL Local Tech Wire Publisher and Editor Rick Smith dishes out tidbits from the local technology sector. Read more articles…