The telecommunications manufacturing industry has seen massive consolidation in the past 10 years. This is the story of how two major telecom providers, Alcatel and Lucent, merged and positioned themselves for the future. It focuses on the leadership challenges of the final years, just before the company was sold.

The case describes the emergence of a new technology for use in mobile phones, covering the applications and business case as well as technical aspects. It investigates the interests of several industry sectors involved, namely telecommunications, semiconductors, financial institutions, and public transport. In addition, it explores the role of international standards organisations.

The case describes the emergence of a new technology for use in mobile phones, covering the applications and business case as well as technical aspects. It investigates the interests of several industry sectors involved, namely telecommunications, semiconductors, financial institutions, and public transport. In addition, it explores the role of international standards organisations.

At the end of the 1990s the leading cellphone manufacturers formed a joint venture with PDA maker Psion to develop the standard software platform for the next generation of handsets. Competition with Microsoft was the initial driver. As the platform advanced, Nokia diverged from its partners on key technical issues, and became the leading force in the alliance.

As of November 2001, NTT DoCoMo is the only company that has been able to make money out of the mobile Internet. This case study describes how, in a very competitive industry engaged in a technology race and strong price erosion, NTT DoCoMo has been able to achieve superior performance with its novel i-mode services.