Nortel: The Clock Is Ticking

Telecom-giant Nortel continues to strategize it's future today after hiring lawyers to decide on whether to seek bankruptcy protection, reports Network World's Tim Greene. This is yet another interesting piece to the financial puzzle that continues to plague the company, and even more, the entire industry.

Tim Greene's article made it clear that Nortel has been quoted stating that no bankruptcy filing is imminent. Greene importantly states that "(Nortel's) statement on Wednesday does not deny that it sought advice on bankruptcy."

It has become the inequitable 'race against time' that plagues many other companies in varied industries: Capitalize on your strengths to generate enough cash flow to survive. With it's debt maturity surfacing in 2011, and the new year around the corner, the stopwatch is running on Nortel's future.

It's often difficult to surmise the details of any financial organization, but in Nortel's case, I hope they have a plan. In their arsenal of tools, Nortel may request a 'bailout' of sorts from the Canadian government. Following the suit of the US Government, perhaps this is a viable option.

We've hashed and re-hashed these details before. The news of a potential seeking of bailout protection is standard procedure, and Nortel is in fact considering all of its options. What is important to note, however, is the incredible outward-reaching effects throughout the global marketplace.

To Nortel's credit, an extensive framework of vendors, solution providers, consultants, etc., has been effectively built for distribution and promotion of its products. However, with the relatively unstable future of the company, this network of partners is likely concerned with their own futures, and rightfully so.

Can we live without a Nortel? As much as I advocate alternative solutions, I don't believe so, without a reorganization of the telecom landscape. The carrier markets that the company maintains are incredibly important to the lifeblood of many industries, and without Nortel's positive contribution to these channels, we would feel an impact.

Please contribute your thoughts on the future of Nortel:

• bailout
• bankruptcy
• financial
• Nortel
• telecommunications
• vendor