Nokia Considers Tie-Up With Alcatel-Lucent

Once Nokia sells its handset business to Microsoft, it will build out its wireless networking business, possibly with the help of Alcatel-Lucent.

Now that Nokia has bought Siemens' half of the companies' joint venture and has agreed to sell its handset business to Microsoft, company officials now must figure out how to better compete in the wireless networking market with Ericsson and Huawei Technologies.

According to reports, Alcatel-Lucent may be an answer. Nokia's board of directors has talked about the idea of linking up in some way with Alcatel-Lucent that has had its own problems since the merger in 2006 of Alcatel of France and U.S.-based Lucent, according to The Wall Street Journal. However, no official talks with Alcatel-Lucent have been broached.