In today’s Bulldog roundup: NCTA names NFL mobile exec as keynote for State of Technology conference; Cisco’s $1B “cloud” play targets Amazon; Nokia-Microsoft deal on hold; and BlackBerry is selling much of its Canadian real estate.

The headlines:

  • NFL Exec to Keynote State of Technology event

RALEIGH – Manish Jha, GM-Mobile for the National Football League, is the luncheon keynote speaker for NCTA’s State of Technology conference.

Other speakers for the May 16 event in RTP are:

  • Lee Congdon, CIO – Red Hat
  • Chris Estes, CIO – State of NC
  • Mike Hillhouse, CIO – AGDATA
  • Marc Hoit, VC for IT/CIO – NC State
  • Umesh Manthakar, CIO – Cree
  • Robert Signore, Director of Mobile Solutions – Ipreo
  • Chris Terhune, SVP – LPL Financial

The conference also will include a “Startup Showcase.”

Event details are available online.

  • Cisco in the “Cloud”

NEW YORK – Cisco is betting $1 billion on could infrastructure, according to the Wall Street Journal.

“Cisco plans to sell its cloud services to telecom companies that will then use them in a package of Internet-based services the companies already sell to others,” WSJ says. “It also plans to tailor its services to work especially well with software from companies such as SAP AG, Microsoft Corp. and VMware Inc., all in widespread use at big companies.”

More details are online (subscription required).

  • Nokia Deal with Microsoft Delayed Until April

HELSINKI — Nokia Corp. says the sale of its mobile phone unit to Microsoft will be delayed until next month because it is still waiting for approval from regulatory authorities in Asia.

The Finnish company said Monday that the 5.4 billion euros ($7.3 billion) deal announced in September and expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2014, has been approved by the EU and U.S. authorities but “certain antitrust authorities In Asia” were still reviewing the deal.

Last week, Nokia said it was contesting a legal case in Madras, India, by local authorities who want Nokia to pay sales tax on the export of devices made at Nokia’s plant in Chennai.

Legislation in some countries requires local regulatory approval for transactions that affect companies in the region.

  •  BlackBerry Selling Most Canadian Real Estate

NEW YORK — BlackBerry is selling most of its real estate holdings in Canada as the struggling smartphone company continues to look for ways to improve its business.

BlackBerry Ltd. did not disclose the buyer or purchase price, but said Friday that it will sell more than 3 million square feet of space and vacant lands. It will also lease back part of the space.

“The successful sale of property in Canada will help us move toward our goal of continued operational efficiency,” CEO and Executive Chair John Chen said in a statement.

The company had announced in January that it planned to sell the majority of its Canadian real estate holdings.

BlackBerry pioneered the smartphone in 1999 and dominated for years, but since the late 2000s the company has been hammered by competition from the iPhone as well as Android-based rivals.

Under Chen — who took on the CEO post permanently late last year — BlackBerry has been working to turn around its business.

Chen said that BlackBerry is still committed to having a strong presence in Canada. It is keeping its headquarters in Waterloo, Ontario.

The company said that more terms of the transaction will be announced once principal conditions are satisfied or waived by the parties.