Alcatel-Lucent
CEO
Ben Verwaayen has expressed concerns about uncertainties
in Indian telecom market.

Alcatel-Lucent’s
APAC revenues were down 4 percent for the full year. Revenue in China was up 7
percent for the full year. India was down 41 percent, and Australia was up 14
percent.

In Q4
2011, revenues in APAC region grew 9 percent.

Telecom
developments in China will be strong this year because they have their fiber cities.
China also has their 3G and 4G expansion plans.

In India,
it’s a very different story because if you look to Q4, for us, you see APAC
down. It’s not because of China, it’s because of India. Because in India, we
can all see the story there. There’s such an uncertainty in the market. There’s
such turmoil that it translates in two things. It translates in cautiousness
for investments, and it translates into cautiousness in choosing your partners
from the vendor’s perspective, from our perspective,” said Alcatel-Lucent CEO Ben Verwaayen.

Investment
uncertainties have affected several telecom equipment makers. It is
unfortunate that the Indian telecom Industry is being bogged down by scams.
However, it is important that all deviations from policy and law should be
acted upon quickly. India needs to correct inefficiencies and irregularities
and move forward with a policy regime that is efficient and transparent. The
potential for growth in the Indian telecom services market is high, especially
with 3G and 4G technologies. We need to move forward rapidly to roll out
services that benefit the subscribers,” said Rajiv Kapur, MD, Broadcom India.

Alcatel-Lucent
said telecom equipment vendors face uncertain political environment in Middle
East. The rest of Africa is doing very well for Alcatel-Lucent.

Growth is
happening in Latin America and the rest of APAC as well.

North
America contributed well for the full year. Revenue was up 11 percent
year-on-year. North America is a testament to the change that’s taking place
with regards to consumers’ desire for rich media and higher order services.

Its Latin
American and South American operations grew 28 percent year-on-year. Its Middle
East and Africa group posted 13 percent decreased in revenue.

Alcatel-Lucent
spent EUR 574 million on Capex in 2011.

Meanwhile,
Alcatel-Lucent is planning to reduce around 1800 jobs its Europe.

The job
cutting would be part of longstanding efforts to reduce costs. Around 20
percent of jobs could be cut in Italy, while the workforce in France and
Belgium are likely to be reduced by around 5 percent and 10 percent
respectively.

Alcatel-Lucent’s
plan to reduce its 79,000-strong workforce follows a similar move by Nokia
Siemens Networks, which had recently mentioned plans to slash its global
workforce by 17,000. Meanwhile, Nokia announced its intentions to cut 4,000
jobs at smartphone making units in Europe and the Americas, in line with plans
to move production to Asia.

By
Baburajan K
[email protected]