Nokia has announced yesterday that it has entered into a strategic business alliance with the Japanese company Renesas Electronics Corporation in order to “develop modem technologies for HSPA+/LTE (Evolved High-Speed Packet Access / Long-Term Evolution) and its evolution”.

 

As part of this alliance Renesas Electronics will be acquiring Nokia’s wireless modem business for about $200 million (approx. R1.54 billion) and will also work with the Finnish manufacturer in the long term on joint research projects concerning future radio technologies.

 

The Japanese company will also receive Nokia’s related patents and include around 1 100 R&D professionals of the cellphone maker.

 

“Wireless modems are an integral part of today’s chipset solutions, and we believe that Renesas Electronics, as one of the key chipset vendors in the market, is in an ideal position to further develop this offering,” stated Kai Oistamo, executive vice president of Nokia. “The alliance enables us to continue to focus on our own core businesses, connecting people to what matters to them with our mobile products and solutions.”

 

“The agreement with Nokia demonstrates our long-standing commitment to shape the future of advanced mobile platforms and will serve as an important step for us to become a leading mobile platform vendor in the global market, said Yasushi Akao, president of Renesas Electronics Corporation. 

 

“Our collaboration with Nokia will enable consumers to enjoy true mobile cloud computing experiences through our advanced high-speed mobile devices. In line with our ongoing efforts to strengthen our business structure, the transferring wireless modem technology and the innovation power and expertise of Nokia’s employees will perfectly complement our core competences and serve as the key driving forces in growing our mobile business in the global market.”

 

The transfer is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to be completed around Q4 of this year.