Nokia Siemens Networks terminates TD-LTE JV with Huawei

After buying Motorola's telecommunications network equipment business, Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) has terminated its TD-LTE development joint venture with Chinese telecom equipment maker Huawei Technologies.

TD-LTE or 'long term evolution time division duplex' is part of the next generation cellular technology.

Siemens had set up the TD Tech and TD-SCDMA technology joint venture with Huawei in 2005, which was later assimilated into the NSN joint venture.

At its Hangzhou R&D facility, NSN had opened a TD-LTE Open Lab in April 2010, which provides end-to-end testing for checking the compatibility of terminals and devices with the company's TD-LTE network products.

NSN's Greater China Region president Zhang Zhiqiang had said in a recent interview that the company would develop its own TD-LTE technology in future.

NSN, which is strong in WiMAX technology, hopes to capture the Chinese niche market and other markets for TD-LTE after it acquired Motorola's telecommunications network equipment business for $1.2 billion last week. (See: Nokia Siemens snaps up Motorola's gear business for $1.2 billion) 

The Motorola network equipment acquisition as well as bagging a $7-billion contract from Harbinger Capital Partners last week to build and operate LightSquared 4G-LTE wireless broadband network integrated with satellite coverage in the US (See: Nokia Siemens bags $7-bn US wireless broadband network contract) also gave NSN the confidence that it can go alone in the TD-LTE segment. 

NSN has been working with China Mobile for quite some time since it is planning to deploy TD-LTE widely. NSN also plans to work with international operators for the deployment of TD-LTE.

NSN is also distancing itself from Huawei, which is its main competitor, after Motorola filed a lawsuit last week against the Chinese firm for stealing its intellectual property on SC300 base station transceiver, a component used for internet protocol soft switching technology for cellular systems. (See: Motorola sues Huawei for stealing intellectual property) 
 
With both Motorola and NSN attacking Huawei, they are making it more difficult for the Chinese gear maker to do business in North America, say analysts.