When Nortel Networks decided to auction itself off in pieces, its name was of the items on block. But now with its last business unit slated to go to Genband, Nortel hasn’t found anyone interested in taking up the moniker despite its long history in the industry.
Genband executive vice president and chief marketing officer Mehmet Balos said Genband had the option of buying the name when it placed its bid on Nortel’s switching and VoIP divison, but it declined. Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC), Ciena (NASDAQ:CIEN), Avaya and Hitachi all left the Nortel logo on the table to as they carved off their respective pieces in Nortel’s CDMA, GSM, packet core, enterprise and optical businesses.
Incorporated as the Northern Electric and Manufacturing company in 1895, the company is one of the oldest in communications, becoming Northern Telecom in 197os and Nortel Networks in the 1980s.
I did work for Nortel not for long, only for a couple of years. I feel crying to see Nortel\\\’s situation. It\\\’s not they did not have good products.. I feel to identify the management executives who are responsible for this condition… John Roth must be one of them and thay all should be behind the bar…
Shame on you..
I am sad to see the Nortel name disappear. I never worked for Nortel but I did start my career at Ericsson literally don’t the street from them in RTP, NC. That name takes me back to memories of those early days right after college working that area. RIP, Nortel.
It is sad to see another great name disappear. Don\\\’t know if it was inevitable but I would think that a 110+ trade name is worth something. So, my guess is that Nortel creditors either wanted too much for the name or the name came with some considerable liabilities. I don\\\’t know about other big guys that carved out pieces of Nortel for themselves – all those companies have great names long established by now – but at least Genband would be wise to consider taking Nortel\\\’s name.
Another one bites the dust …