Barney Robison Blog

Genband Inc. has saddled up and ridden forth as the “stalking horse” bidder for Nortel Networks Ltd. ‘s Carrier VoIP and Application Solutions (CVAS) business with an offer of $282 million, a move that will trigger an auction process in early 2010 when other interested parties can submit competitive bids. (See Nortel to Sell VoIP Unit to Genband.)

A pre-Christmas bid announcement had been anticipated for what is one of the few remaining Nortel business units still to pin down a buyer. (See Analyst: Nortel VoIP Biz Bids Imminent and Nortel: What’s Left on the Shelf?)

Genband, which has teamed up with one of its shareholders, One Equity Partners , to make the bid, says the agreed purchase price is $282 million, but the “total cost of ownership [is] in excess of $400 million.” That $400 million includes the $282 million starting price plus “required working capital, infrastructure cost, transitional services cost, taxes, and Read more

Arris Group Inc. (Nasdaq: ARRS) and a handful of private equity firms have shown interest in buying Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT)’s profitable set-top and wireless networking division, according to a Reuters report.

The report stated that Bain Capital , The Blackstone Group , Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) , Silver Lake Partners , and TPG Capital all put in early bids before last Wednesday’s deadline for “first round expressions of interest” but warned that none of the preliminary activity is binding.

The report also listed Arris as a possible buyer, but noted that it’s likelier the vendor would hook up with an equity partner rather than pursue the Motorola unit all on its own.

The bid activity comes after a report last month by The Wall Street Journal (still unconfirmed by Motorola) that Moto wants to shed its Home Networks and Mobility division for about $4.5 billion. That Moto unit posted revenues of $2 billion and Read more

Further evidence of the blurring of the IT/telecom boundaries has come to light in the mobile data service assurance space with the launch of remarkably similar IP session monitoring tools from two companies that generate most, and in one case nearly all, of their revenues from the enterprise IT sector.

First, Compuware Corp. (Nasdaq: CPWR) announced its entry into the telecom service assurance market with the launch of Vantage for Mobile, a new network probe that enables “real-time monitoring of IP sessions,” using the experience it has built up developing data-monitoring systems for 23,000 enterprise customers, from which it generates revenues of more than $1 billion a year. (See Compuware Unveils Mobile OSS.)

“We’re responding to real carrier needs — they need real-time insights into their customers’ experience,” Ian Clark, Compuware’s global director of Telecoms Strategy, tells Light Reading.

Clark says his Read more

Large enterprises want to reduce their telecom expenses in 2010, and they will be pushing their communications service providers to make billing more accurate and transparent, according to a survey by Telesoft Corp. , a provider of telecom expense management software and services.

Telesoft asked the CIOs and CFOs of its large enterprise customers to name their priorities for 2010, and three major issues emerged, says Kevin Donoghue, Telesoft president: improving inventory and service order activity management; increasing audit capabilities; and creating greater control over mobility costs.

Thirty-five percent of those surveyed said they expected to cut telecom expenditures in 2010, while only 16 percent plan to spend more.

At the same time, businesses want to make more productive use of telecom technology, says Donoghue. The cost control focus will be on making sure they’re actually getting the services for which they’re paying.

The result Read more

Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK)’s attracting some attention in the mobile applications and music worlds today with two separate announcements.

Here’s the news lead for any readers aged 23 or younger: The Finnish handset giant has secured an exclusive deal with international R&B sensation Rihanna, who has been making headlines this year for her music and her personal life. Nokia has launched the “Rihanna App,” which “will deliver news, music, photos and exclusive video content direct to Nokia’s entertainment-rich handsets including the Nokia N97, Nokia X6 and Nokia 5800 XpressMusic.”

Sweet.

And here’s the news lead for the oldies, or anyone who still thinks Rihanna is a blackcurrant drink: Nokia has formed a mobile services joint venture in China with investment outfit New Alliance that will “offer a range of mobile services in China and support the local developer ecosystem.”

The joint venture Read more

AlcaLu has unexpectedly replaced the president of its Asia/Pacific operations, Sean Dolan, who will relinquish the post Feb. 1, after only 14 months on the job. (See Fresh Blood at AlcaLu.)

He’s being replaced by Rajeev Singh-Molares, the vendor’s current chief strategy officer and one of the leading forces behind AlcaLu’s greater focus on applications. Singh-Molares joined AlcaLu at the beginning of 2009. (See AlcaLu Shows Off Its Apps Abs and AlcaLu Turns Apps Broker.)

The vendor isn’t providing any further comment on the move, and it’s unclear whether Dolan might transfer to another role in the company. Light Reading understands that Dolan has neither quit nor been fired, though, like others before him, he may be an executive without portfolio at the company come February, a state of limbo that usually precedes a departure. (See AlcaLu’s Floaters.)

AlcaLu’s latest financials show nothing to suggest that Dolan is Read more

Telefónica SA (NYSE: TEF) today confirmed that it’s buying VoIP services and applications specialist Jajah Inc. for €145 million (US$208 million) in cash.

The VoIP specialist will retain its brand and become part of Telefónica O2 Europe plc , which operates mobile and fixed operations in multiple markets under the O2 brand and boasts nearly 49 million customers in the region. Globally, Telefónica has more than 260 million customers in 25 countries.

News of the deal leaked earlier this week. (See Rumor: O2 Wins Race to Buy Jajah.)

Jajah says its services, which are available directly to users or embedded as part of other online services, such as Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO) Messenger, are used by more than 25 million individuals and businesses in more than 200 countries.

For more background, see our previous story on the deal. Read more

U.S.A. third quarter 857, 000 users of net profit in to move T, the porter announces today, defeat bigger competitor dash Nextel Company ingeniously (New York Stock Exchange: S) Increase in summer as to users.

Bellevue, the operator in Washington reports the net income of 526 million dollars in the third quarter, downward in the third quarter of 2006 from 1,790 million dollars. In 2006 because one 1,500 million income tax firm right to speak of windfall profit high income. The income is 4,890 million dollars, rise from 4,370 million dollars this quarter before per year.

Deutsche Telekom (New York Stock Exchange: DT) Auxiliary, the 4th largest radio radio operator in U.S.A., the book about it can be almost regarded as 28 million users at the end of third quarter.

Bigger competitor AT&T Limited Company (New York Stock Exchange: T) And Verizon wireless every increase over 1 million new users in the third quarter. On the contrary, recent T cellular Read more

Forget foot-and-mouth disease. Forget to rush to buy the British bank. Real news has already struck Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland –IPhone has already been shown for the first time.

Apple Limited Company (Nasdaq: AAPL) Reveal that O2, the subsidiary of operator of flow of Great Britain and the United Kingdom Telefón ica O2 European plc, Northern Ireland today, it will be in Great Britain and partner of its porter that has specially of iPhone of the United Kingdom of Northern Ireland, thinking of finishing several months. (See O2 getting Britain iPhone, good-bye, i way … Hello, iPhone? ,IPhone has a fever and strikes Europe to manage coming Europe, apple Waduven? ,Hitting 3 G iPhone in early time of 2008? ,And the report: Apple choose Europe iPhone partner.)

CEO of the apple has been announced trade Steve and Chambers and Matthew the key, O2 Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland ‘ s CEO, in very Read more

AT&T Limited Company (New York Stock Exchange: T) Cost 275 million U.S.A. to lengthen it in to disclose footprint to enter focus to almost 20 U.S.A., 000 passes and buys WiFi operator Wayport Limited Company

All cash is a focus to manage operators to seem that a little unusual, when you consider, all competitors of AT&T and it are hoping for in the wireless broadband network of the broad area is put in the appropriate position the following several years. To AT&T, however, to having a simple point: Ship more apparatus compare with WiFi of installation any time in the past together very much with other operator, it smartphones or portable computer is.

AT&T says almost the apparatus that 300 million WiFies enable can be shipped in 2007, and will expect to increase that figure to nearly 1 billion the end ten years before.

AT&T has already taken over Starbuck WiFi and signed the contract from U.S.A. that moves T. It will make it can Read more