The rumor mill is having a heyday with the idea of Cisco Systems Inc. purchasing (and this depends on how deal-crazy the news source is) all or just the wireless division of Finnish telecommunications company Nokia. Most reports cast doubt on the idea such as this article from EE Times, but others, like the analysts in this InfoWorld article, can't help but speculate how much sense the deal might make.
While the EETimes report notes that the Cisco/Nokia rumor was bandied about in February at the 3GSM conference in Nice, France, most blamed the rumor on the gallons of alcohol flowing at 3GSM parties. However, Mark Blowers, senior research analyst at the London office of consulting company Butler Group, told InfoWorld that wireless is a big opportunity and Cisco is interested in wireless, so a deal could happen. Cisco, however, has focused for years on acquiring startups, not large established communications companies, so this would represent a change for the network gearmaker. Maybe that's why the rumor mill is spinning so quickly. — Stacey Higginbotham
Go to story from EE Times
Go to story from InfoWorld
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