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Vendors Nokia Siemens Networks and Motorola are both moving to exit non-core businesses.

NSN has put an end to its in-house mobile Wimax developments, announcing it will rely solely on partners for the development of Wimax radio systems, says Ovum.

The decision has killed off NSN's Flexi Wimax portfolio, Ovum analyst Julien Grivolas said. “Like for Nortel in the past, this move is an acknowledgment by NSN that it could not achieve the goal of being a leading mobile Wimax radio supplier on a standalone basis,” he said.

The company has attributed the decision to the revelation that the Wimax market will not be as large as initially predicted, as well as the fact that operators were being more cautious with regard to new technologies as a result of the global economic situation.

But NSN has also had trouble finding Wimax customers – US operator Sprint is its only significant customer, Grivolas said. “In addition, NSN is also the only Wimax vendor without Wimax Forum certified 16e equipment at either 2.5GHz or 3.5GHz.”

Motorola, meanwhile, has sold of its FTTN assets to engineering firm Communications Test Design (CTDI).

Motorola said it was pulling out of the FTTN market. “Motorola’s business focus has shifted from legacy FTTN networks to new deployments of Fiber-to-the-Premises technology by Tier 1 Telco customers around the world,” Motorola SVP Joe Cozzolino said.

CTDI will provide service and support for Motorola's existing FTTN customers, he added.