Qualcomm may acquire a stake in Alcatel-Lucent, The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday, citing a statement by Alcatel-Lucent CEO Michel Combes. This will happen as part of a new agreement to produce small mobile stations that will help operators cope with the rapid growth of data transmission in their networks. Qualcomm will receive less than 5% of Alcatel-Lucent shares, Combes said. He did not rule out that the company will attract 3-5 more partners under the same scheme, selling them up to 5% of the company's shares. Alcatel-Lucent's capitalization on the Paris Stock Exchange yesterday amounted to 4.16 billion euros.

The deal between Qualcomm and Alcatel-Lucent could be worth more than 100 million euros, the Financial Times (FT) writes. These funds will be spent on scientific developments, says one of the FT sources familiar with the terms of the agreement. The size of the package received by Qualcomm is symbolic: this deal only demonstrates the long-term interest of both companies in the joint project, the source explains.

Alcatel-Lucent announced the agreement with Qualcomm during its Q2 2013 results. It is the first agreement under Alcatel-Lucent's new growth strategy, recently unveiled by Combes. An important part of this strategy is a review of the company's R&D plans. The new management was concerned that the company was spending heavily on technologies that were already outdated. Now, Alcatel-Lucent and Qualcomm will jointly invest in R&D. In addition, Qualcomm will provide its processors and software. Combes promised that Alcatel-Lucent will seek new partners to develop the latest technologies, including among American companies.

Recently, Combe told Vedomosti that as the new director of Alcatel-Lucent, he wants to focus on developing two main business areas - the production of IP network solutions (routing equipment, IP transport, including optical and radio relay systems, and IP platforms) and equipment for broadband access - both mobile and fixed. These areas, in his opinion, can become the driver of Alcatel-Lucent's business growth - the volume of Internet traffic is constantly growing and operators need new equipment.

Operators' mobile networks need to be modernized in a situation where smartphone and tablet traffic is growing rapidly. According to analysts' forecasts, the market for small mobile stations will be worth $2 billion by 2016. Operators such as AT&T, Vodafone, Telefonica, SoftBank and Sprint have already declared the importance of introducing such stations. According to the FT, Alcatel-Lucent has already signed a contract for the supply of small stations with the Orange group.

Analysts interviewed by the FT believe that small mobile stations will soon become an important part of all mobile networks. They allow operators to improve the quality of connections in areas with high mobile internet usage, such as shopping malls or high-rise housing estates.

With the help of these stations, the size of a small box, the operator can extend network coverage closer to the subscriber and improve the quality of communication, writes FT.

Qualcomm to become minority shareholder in Alcatel-Lucent