French telecommunications gear maker Alcatel next week plans to announce a reseller and joint development partnership with a new wireless Wi-Fi start-up, a source close to the deal said.
As early as next week, Alcatel will announce plans to resell wireless switches and access points from Aruba Wireless Networks under the Alcatel label, the source said. The two companies will also be working together to develop new products that can handle voice over Wi-Fi.
Alcatel, which has been reselling gear from Airespace since March 2004, started getting serious about finding a new partner after rival Cisco Systems announced in January that it was buying Airespace for $450 million.
Alcatel had been in talks with Aruba before the Cisco-Airespace deal was announced, according to the source. Alcatel was supposedly unhappy with its arrangement with Airespace, which also had a reseller agreement with Nortel Networks. An analyst who knows the industry agreed.
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Mar 19, 2005, 04:48 PM
