Wireless

Qwest Communications International is reportedly seeking a buyer for its long-distance carrier business, as the company searches for ways to lower its outstanding debt load, according to a report Thursday in The Wall Street Journal.

Qwest, a , is reportedly hoping to raise $2 billion to $3 billion through the sale of its long-distance carrier business, according to the story which cited sources familiar with the matter.

That would pare down the footprint of the Denver-based telecommunications company, leaving it as a regional telecommunications player.

But such a sale could help offset its debt load, which at the end of the year stood at $13.7 billion.

Telecommunications giants AT&T, as well as Verizon, and smaller players such as TW Telecom may be interested in snapping up the business from Qwest.

A spokeswoman for Qwest declined to comment on whether the company's long-distance carrier business is up for sale. She also noted the company does not break out the financial performance of its long-distance carrier business.

Qwest is scheduled to release its first-quarter financial results on April 29.

Chinese telecom equipment maker Huawei Technologies announced Monday that it will provide wireless equipment to cable operator Cox Communications, which is building its own 3G cell phone network.

Cox, the third largest cable provider in the U.S., is using the $300 million worth of spectrum it bought in last year's Federal Communications Commission's auction to build the network. The company also plans to resell Sprint Nextel wireless service. The service is expected to launch later this year.

Huawei is providing the CDMA equipment to build the network, which the company says will be upgradeable to the 4G wireless technology LTE, or Long Term Evolution.

Huawei has tried for several years to get a foothold in the U.S. telecom equipment market. But the company has only managed to strike a few minor deals with wireless operators, such as Leap Wireless. The deal with Cox looks to be one of the largest for the company in the U.S.

But Huawei has done well in Europe, providing gear to big operators such as Vodafone and France Telecom's Orange.

The Wall Street Journal reported last week that the Cox deal was imminent. And it also said that Clearwire, which is building a 4G nationwide wireless network using WiMax, is also considering Huawei to provide it with gear for its network. Clearwire has joined forces with Sprint Nextel to build the new network. And it is currently selecting vendors to finish building the network. The company expects to make service available to 120 million people by 2010.

Chinese communications equipment maker Huawei has nailed an important deal and is close to striking a second one with American service providers, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The company, which has tried for several years to crack the U.S. market, has scored a deal with cable operator Cox Communications and is a finalist in bids to help Clearwire build its nationwide 4G wireless network using a technology called WiMax.

Clearwire expects its network to be available to 120 million people by 2010. And it is currently selecting equipment suppliers to help it build the network. The new Clearwire was formed at the end of last year when it merged spectrum assets from Sprint Nextel with its own. Sprint had also planned to build a nationwide 4G wireless network using WiMax. The company had also selected vendors to build the network, including suppliers Motorola and Samsung. But the new Clearwire is not bound to Sprint's previous vendor contracts.

The Journal noted in its article that if Huawei wins a significant piece of the Clearwire contract, it would be the Chinese manufacturer's largest deal in the U.S.

Huawei has won smaller deals, like with regional, low-cost cell phone provider Leap Wireless, but for the most part, the company has struggled to get a toehold in the U.S. market.

Huawei had formed a joint venture with U.S.-based networking company 3Com in 2003. But 3Com's business was in trouble and the company announced in 2007 that it would be sold to a private equity firm and Huawei. But the U.S. government blocked the purchase in 2008, citing security concerns.

The failed merger with 3Com was a setback for Huawei, but the company along with other Chinese equipment makers like ZTE have still managed to do very well in Western Europe and in developing parts of the world by selling their equipment at much cheaper prices.

For example, Vodafone and France Telecom SA's Orange both use Huawei gear. And the company is also helping build a third-generation wireless network in Canada for Bell Canada and Telus.

But as the economy sinks deeper into a recession, U.S. service providers are likely looking for bargains, which could help Huawei and ZTE win business here , too.

Telecommunications equipment maker Nortel Networks is reportedly in discussions to sell two key business units, a move that may affect its ability to re-emerge from its Chapter 11 bankruptcy status, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Nortel, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January, has received interest from competitors in its wireless equipment operation, as well as its unit that creates corporate communications networks, according to the Journal.

In September, the struggling telecommunications equipment maker raised the issue of finding a buyer for some of its assets, after it warned Wall Street its financial situation had worsened.

Avaya and Siemens Enterprise Communications are both reportedly interested in Nortel's enterprise networks business, while Nokia Siemens Networks may be interested in snapping up its wireless equipment unit, the Journal reported.

Although Nortel may ultimately sell those two business units, the Journal notes that a source informed the publication that it would be "very premature" to assume such a move would trigger the company's liquidation.

Previously, the company's chief executive had indicated the company would share its reorganization plan with investors in April or May.

Sprint Nextel on Monday announced plans to cut approximately 8,000 jobs through the first quarter, as the economic meltdown cuts into the telecommunications carrier's business.

In addition, Sprint plans to suspend its 401k match in 2009, as well as continue with its salary freeze for a second year. The telecommunications carrier's tuition reimbursement program will also be suspended this year.

The workforce reduction is expected to result in a $300 million charge in the first quarter for severance payouts, but also is anticipated to save the company $1.2 billion in annualized labor costs.

Sprint said the job cuts will also include 850 positions lost through its voluntary buyout plan that began late last year.

While the layoffs are expected to affect employees companywide, the degree of the cuts will vary based on geographic location, with the impact expected to be less severe in areas that deal directly with customers, Sprint stated.

The telecommunications carrier is the latest in a growing list of companies to announce layoffs> That group most recently has included software giant Microsoft with 5,000 cuts, Internet search pioneer Yahoo with roughly 1,500 jobs and social media site Digg, which is cutting a small handful of workers, or 10 percent of its 75-person workforce.

In addition to the layoffs, Sprint also announced it will report its fourth-quarter earnings results on Feb. 19.