[bt: ftel & wstl]
hi ray
well here it is: ftel picks up wstl europe's employees, lease, certain fixed assets and inventories, and a license for wstl's ip.. gotta wonder what's left... ;) ... and no dollar figure is named...
... still too ambiguous for me to get a real handle on how orct's prospects might be impacted... but it looks like westell europe has retreated from bt and fujitsu is left with at least a clear conscience... and maybe a (contractually) clear path should they want to involve another xdsler...
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btw, announcement struck me as somewhat less than a ringing endorsement of the ftel/wstl alliance... seemed a bit odd that while "Fujitsu Telecommunications Europe Limited (FTEL) and Westell Expand Strategic Alliance".. it was felt necessary to explicitly point out that the two companies would "continue working together"
bye
s
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Monday June 14, 7:45 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: Westell Technologies, Inc.
Fujitsu Telecommunications Europe Limited (FTEL) and Westell Expand Strategic Alliance
Long Term Initiative Includes Funding Sponsorship for DSL Product Development, License of DSL Technology, Manufacturing for ADSL and HDSL Products, and Transfer Of Certain Assets of Westell's U.K. Operations to FTEL
AURORA, Ill. and BIRMINGHAM, England, June 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Westell Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: WSTL - news) and Fujitsu Telecommunications Europe Limited (FTEL) announced today that they have entered into a broad strategic agreement on ADSL and HDSL product development, manufacturing and global marketing. As part of this agreement, FTEL will assist Westell in the funding of certain future developments of ADSL and the parties will continue working together to enhance and to develop new products for both ADSL and
HDSL applications. FTEL will receive a long-term license of Westell's intellectual property for ADSL and HDSL deployment in FTEL products.
Additionally, in a measure to streamline operations, Westell transfered certain assets of its U.K. operations to FTEL. Employees of Westell Europe Limited (WEL), headquartered in Cambridge, England, became employees of FTEL, FTEL assumed WEL's lease, purchased certain fixed assets and inventories of FTEL, and earned manufacturing rights.
''Westell and FTEL have been working closely for a number of years, including our partnership in a major European DSL deployment,'' stated Marc Zionts, CEO of Westell, Inc. ''This agreement marks another step in our strategy to further promote our participation in the DSL marketplace while decreasing our operating expenses. The long term licensing agreement of our Intellectual Property will enhance the capabilities of FTEL to leverage its significant presence in the marketplace.''
''Our growing position in the access market will be further enhanced by the addition of Westell's European team. This will provide greater emphasis on our broadband solutions and will enable us to provide much greater value for our customers. This agreement will facilitate greater integration of technology into the next generation of product. We look forward to it providing innovative xDSL based end-to-end solutions for our customers,'' said Shigeyuki Unagami, Managing Director, FTEL.
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