Abstract
Two losing teams in mobile telecommunications entered into loose talks in the summer of 2000 to join forces – for Ericsson to cut its dreadful losses and for Sony to re-enter the global arena in mobile handsets. Serious discussions followed by the end of the year, although real planning for a full-scale joint venture started only after a Memorandum of Understanding had been signed in April 2001. The two companies brought together complementary resources and made bold statements at the start on October 1 2001. This paper discusses the background and partially covers the implementation process. Sony has been able to considerably broaden its platform for mobile communications which it considers of great significance for its future presence in advanced electronics consumer products and systems. Ericsson has simultaneously departed from consumer products and focused its strategy on mobile infrastructure.