As Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) readies itself to make a major investor announcement on Dec. 12, some analysts are saying the infrastructure giant might dump the mobile business.
The mobile networks business has been fingered as the culprit behind falling profitability at the No. 3 worldwide gearmaker — an effect that’s been felt since Alcatel and Lucent came together back in 2006.
The theory for eschewing wireless is that it requires significant investment going forward, but no new orders can be expected until at least 2010, leaving a shortfall that ALU simply can’t afford. As it is, the vendor has lost 66 percent of its stock value this year.
"The mobile business is too small, they will probably never make any money from this activity," Bernstein Research analyst Pierre Ferragu told Reuters.
Of course, with wireless widely seen as the future of telecom as well as an important part of carrier spending going forward, such a spinoff might prove to be shortsighted.
