It’s a paradox: The world is rushing to embrace mobile communications, but some of the biggest suppliers of telecommunications equipment are struggling to stay ahead.

For Nortel Networks Corp., survival is no longer even an issue. The company has agreed to sell its lucrative wireless business for $650-million (U.S.) to Nokia Siemens Networks, and is in late-stage negotiations to sell its corporate networks unit to another firm, most likely Avaya Inc. In the months ahead, a group of several dozen executives, lawyers and accountants will preside over a transition services group to dispose of Nortel’s last asset. Creditors will be left to fight over the financial remains.

The giants still standing in the West include Telefon AB LM Ericsson, Alcatel-Lucent SA, Nokia Siemens and Cisco Systems, Inc. They’re presented with huge opportunities from new wireless technologies. But they also face serious challenges, including declining sales from telecom carriers and businesses that are struggling in the recession, and aggressive competition from Chinese vendors, principally Huawei Technologies Co. and ZTE Corp., each of which have a reputation for undercutting competitors by as much as 50 per cent.

What are the key criteria for success in this environment? Two senior executives from two major players have different agendas, but they agree that future profitability requires a strong global presence and the ability to create unique products.

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