Nortel LTE Patent Value Disputed

There’s some disagreement over the value of Nortel Networks Corp.’s (NT) LTE patents, which Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) hopes to snap up in a $650 million deal.

This week, a JP MorganChase analyst said Nortel’s 4G intellectual property is worth as much as $2.9 billion. Yes, billion with a “b.” But another analyst, this one at ABI Research, says the number is too high. He told FierceBroadbandWireless the figure is based on a 1 percent royalty rate for every LTE device sold.

“This is disproportionate to their patent holdings and cannot be seen as fair and reasonable. I doubt any other single vendor will be looking for this type of return – even Qualcomm,” Stuart Carlow told the publication.

It’s unclear exactly what dollar amount NSN expects from the patents. And there’s the possibility the vendor might not end up with Nortel’s wireless assets, as it plans. A bankruptcy court recently approved a July 24 auction where other companies can submit their bids for the wireless unit.