difenbaker
10-06-2006, 10:28 AM
All quiet on the Nokia front
By Anne Morris, Total Telecom
06 October 2006
Countdown to 1 January as Nokia waits for regulatory approval of its merger with Siemens carrier networks.
For a building that houses a workforce of 2,000 people, Nokia House in Espoo, a city just on the fringes of Helsinki, has a surprisingly hushed quality, perhaps due in part to the building's glass and chrome structure that has two towering atriums at its core.
Hushed, that is, until Nokia staff pour out from hidden offices and meeting rooms into the "agora" at ground level for lunch. Every one seems to take lunch at the same time: even CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo – or OPK as he's known to Nokia insiders - was spotted having a solitary meal in a corner of the restaurant this week.
Right now at Nokia, which this week held a technology update for the media, there's a sense that people are waiting with slightly bated breath as the regulatory process for the planned merger of Nokia Networks with Siemens' carrier networks business runs its course. The outcome of this process is expected to be revealed at the end of October. Until then Nokia executives cannot comment on any element of Siemens' business.
"Until the merger is approved Siemens is still a competitor," commented Kai Sahala, head of radio networks strategic planning at Nokia Networks, during an interview this week with Total Telecom at Nokia House.
The hope is, however, that the new Nokia Siemens Networks, which will be a completely separate company, will be in place from 1 January 2007, and will be based in Finland.
Internally, Nokia staff are adapting to the possibility that they may be relocated to the new company. But for now it's "business as usual" at the world's largest mobile phone manufacturer - at least for the coming three months.
Not so for Siemens, whose former mobile handset business came back to haunt it this week. The German vendor clearly hoped it had drawn a line under a business that had proved to be an increasing headache in the past few years. But BenQ, which acquired the business last year, abruptly pulled the rug from under BenQ Mobile Germany's feet last week and has forced the company into administration proceedings.
The fallout has been ferocious, with BenQ Corp. in Taipei and Siemens management trading accusations over who was responsible for what. As things stand, Siemens has set up a E35 million fund to help its former employees and is looking for a partner to continue the business. Time is of the essence, however, as BenQ Mobile Germany's administrator has made it clear that the company has to be profitable as of 1 January 2007 if it is to be able to continue operations.
For Siemens, BenQ's retreat could hardly come at a less fortuitous time given that the German company is setting up the joint venture with Nokia and is also seeking other solutions for its enterprise and IT services businesses.
Nokia House probably seems like a port in a storm for embattled Siemens executives at present.
more here:
http://www.totaltele.com/View.aspx?ID=86591&t=2
By Anne Morris, Total Telecom
06 October 2006
Countdown to 1 January as Nokia waits for regulatory approval of its merger with Siemens carrier networks.
For a building that houses a workforce of 2,000 people, Nokia House in Espoo, a city just on the fringes of Helsinki, has a surprisingly hushed quality, perhaps due in part to the building's glass and chrome structure that has two towering atriums at its core.
Hushed, that is, until Nokia staff pour out from hidden offices and meeting rooms into the "agora" at ground level for lunch. Every one seems to take lunch at the same time: even CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo – or OPK as he's known to Nokia insiders - was spotted having a solitary meal in a corner of the restaurant this week.
Right now at Nokia, which this week held a technology update for the media, there's a sense that people are waiting with slightly bated breath as the regulatory process for the planned merger of Nokia Networks with Siemens' carrier networks business runs its course. The outcome of this process is expected to be revealed at the end of October. Until then Nokia executives cannot comment on any element of Siemens' business.
"Until the merger is approved Siemens is still a competitor," commented Kai Sahala, head of radio networks strategic planning at Nokia Networks, during an interview this week with Total Telecom at Nokia House.
The hope is, however, that the new Nokia Siemens Networks, which will be a completely separate company, will be in place from 1 January 2007, and will be based in Finland.
Internally, Nokia staff are adapting to the possibility that they may be relocated to the new company. But for now it's "business as usual" at the world's largest mobile phone manufacturer - at least for the coming three months.
Not so for Siemens, whose former mobile handset business came back to haunt it this week. The German vendor clearly hoped it had drawn a line under a business that had proved to be an increasing headache in the past few years. But BenQ, which acquired the business last year, abruptly pulled the rug from under BenQ Mobile Germany's feet last week and has forced the company into administration proceedings.
The fallout has been ferocious, with BenQ Corp. in Taipei and Siemens management trading accusations over who was responsible for what. As things stand, Siemens has set up a E35 million fund to help its former employees and is looking for a partner to continue the business. Time is of the essence, however, as BenQ Mobile Germany's administrator has made it clear that the company has to be profitable as of 1 January 2007 if it is to be able to continue operations.
For Siemens, BenQ's retreat could hardly come at a less fortuitous time given that the German company is setting up the joint venture with Nokia and is also seeking other solutions for its enterprise and IT services businesses.
Nokia House probably seems like a port in a storm for embattled Siemens executives at present.
more here:
http://www.totaltele.com/View.aspx?ID=86591&t=2