WebProNews » Alcatel-Lucent

The AT&T/T-Mobile Fail’s Silver Lining (Possibly)

Drew Bowling — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 21:52:11 +0000

In light of the implosion of the AT&T/T-Mobile merger, everybody’s kinda standing around scratching their heads and deciding what to do next. According to Reuters, at least one entity involved in the wireless industry may benefit from the fallout: network equipment makers.

After having seen their profits decline in the last year, equipment makers are expected to begin to rebound following a spending blitz from both AT&T and T-Mobile to start out the new year (lord knows that AT&T could stand to start making money again after that giant $3 billion break up fee).

From an article earlier today:

Jeff Kvaal of Barclays Capital said equipment makers close to base station vendors would benefit most because AT&T had halted “spending around September, mostly around mobility.”

Vendors with less direct exposure to AT&T’s wireless spending — such as Amdocs, Ciena, Cisco, F5 and Juniper — will benefit indirectly, he said.

“The largest vendor beneficiaries should be AT&T’s incumbent 4G base station vendors, Ericsson and Alcatel-Lucent. T-Mobile’s 3G suppliers are Alcatel-Lucent and Nokia Siemens Networks,” Kvaal said.

The article goes on to cite the jump in stocks of equipment manufacturing companies, such as Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson, following the demise of AT&T-Mobile. Add to this the speculation that capital spending is expected to improve over the next year and you’re probably looking toward sunnier days if you build cell phone things.

See? That AT&T-Mobile fail isn’t bad news for everybody.

Microsoft Jams To MP3 Verdict Win

WebProNews Staff — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 11:14:29 +0000

The patent battle between Microsoft and Alcatel-Lucent over digital music patents took a twist when a judge decided Microsoft won’t have to pay a $1.52 billion jury verdict.

Microsoft Jams To MP3 Verdict Win

Several hours after the decision, Microsoft announced a $50 price cut on its Xbox 360 gaming console. Perhaps gamers should celebrate the judgment handed down by a federal judge in San Diego.

A Bloomberg report said the judge found no infringement on one of two MP3 patents. On the second patent, the judge decided Microsoft did possess a proper license.

Jurors handed down the landmark $1.52 billion verdict in February. Microsoft Deputy General Counsel Tom Burt blasted the decision as “completely unsupported by the law or the facts” at that time.

Judge Rudi Brewster reached a similar conclusion, stating in his order, “The jury’s verdict was against the clear weight of the evidence,” the report said.

A stunned Alcatel-Lucent complained about the reversal of their ten-digit windfall. A company spokesperson told Bloomberg, “The reversal of the judge’s own pre-trial and post-trial rulings is shocking and disturbing.”

Ding! Microsoft Told To Pay $1.5B For MP3

WebProNews Staff — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 13:22:36 +0000

Microsoft blasted a decision made in US District Court in San Diego calling for the company to pay Alcatel-Lucent $1.5 billion for infringing on MP3 technology patents they own.

Thursday proved a rough day for Microsoft. The morning began with Google’s formal launch of its Premier Apps for enterprises, offering guaranteed email uptime and a selection of online applications that could fill a space for some companies who might otherwise purchase Microsoft Office and Exchange. (You may have noticed our coverage of that. If not, we hope you’ve recovered from whatever kept you from visiting the site.)

While Premier Apps shouldn’t result in a mass exodus from Microsoft products by hundreds of millions of Office/Exchange users, the later news out of California definitely made the people in Redmond feel more persecuted.

The District Court found that Microsoft needs to pay Alcatel-Lucent $1.52 billion dollars for patent infringement. A Bloomberg report noted the jury decided Microsoft impropery used technology related to a pair of digital music patents held by the French company in Windows Media Player.

Microsoft disputed Alcatel-Lucent’s claim and criticized the decision made by the court.

Microsoft Deputy General Counsel Tom Burt said they licensed the technology from a German firm, Fraunhofer, who they say is the rightful licensor of MP3 technology since they were the ones who invented it:

"We think this verdict is completely unsupported by the law or the facts. We will seek relief from the trial court, and if necessary appeal. "Like hundreds of other companies large and small, we believe that we properly licensed MP3 technology from its industry recognized licensor – Fraunhofer. The damages award seems particularly outrageous when you consider we paid Fraunhofer only $16 million to license this technology. "Therefore, today’s outcome is disappointing for us and for the hundreds of other companies who have licensed MP3 technology. We are concerned that this decision opens the door for Alcatel-Lucent to pursue action against hundreds of other companies who purchased the rights to use MP3 technology from Fraunhofer, the industry-recognized rightful licensor."

Burt also said the case is just one part of a bigger, ongoing dispute between Microsoft and Alcatel-Lucent.

Industry analysts cited by Bloomberg think that Alcatel-Lucent would use this decision as a springboard to sue other companies illegally using those MP3 patents.
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