We've been around this rumor pretty much since Palm started looking competitive again, so take it for what you will -- but a bunch of fat cats down on Wall Street have been going ape today over renewed "chatter" that Nokia might be taking an interest in acquiring Palm. Palm's share prices are up well over 5 percent on the day, though we wouldn't be the least bit surprised if there was some behind-the-scenes manipulation going on here -- an acquisition would make less sense now than ever with suitors on the hook for $2 billion or more, a hefty sum even for a giant like Nokia, never mind the fact that they've still got two smartphone platforms of their own in the mix. Licensing webOS is being floated as a possible alternative to an outright Palm purchase -- but we're having such an exceedingly difficult time picturing a 5800 running webOS that we'll put this one on ice until we get the joint press release.

Eerily mirroring the situation with T-Mobile in the UK, disgruntled Deutsche Telekom shareholders are apparently now turning their attention to the company's US outpost, now that the British woes are on the fast track to resolution thanks to a tie-up with Orange. The Financial Times is reporting that the bell isn't tolling quite yet for T-Mobile USA -- key players are still on board with the company's plan to get back into the game with an accelerated 3G rollout, which means that alternative strategies aren't actively being considered right this second. Word has it that the clock has been set for mid-2010, though, at which point red ink on the balance sheet is going to mean a more drastic change in direction -- something like a merger with Sprint or a move to transform the carrier into an ultra-value brand concentrating on prepaid service with a possible MetroPCS or Leap / Cricket buy. What color do you get when you combine magenta and yellow, anyway?

Step aside O2 and Vodafone, there's a new sheriff in town. At least there will be if the announced 50:50 merger between T-Mobile UK and Orange can be signed into existence by November as planned. The new venture would give France Telecom and Deutsch Telekom units a 37% share of the UK mobile marketplace leaving O2 with 27% and the once mighty Vodafone with 25%. Let's hope that the corporate cultures mix better than orange and magenta.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

There's not exactly a ton of details on this one, but it looks like Deutsche Telekom CFO Timotheus Hoettges caused a bit of a stir at the company's recently shareholder meeting, where he reportedly suggested that T-Mobile UK would likely have to merge with another carrier or face the possibility of going bust. Specifically, Hoettges said that "in our view consolidation is a means to take excess capabilities out of the market," adding somewhat ominously that "nothing is unthinkable on our side." Of course, that immediately brings up the question of which carrier T-Mobile might merge with, and MarketingWeek suggests that one of the most likely suitors would be 3, which it currently ranked fifth in the UK market right behind T-Mobile, although O2, Orange, and Vodafone would no doubt also be in the running.

[Via Electronista]

In order to get the FCC to agree to Verizon's massive acquisition of Alltel -- the US' 5th-largest carrier -- it had to agree to some pretty serious concessions, including divestitures in a whole slew of markets to ensure that the competitive spirit remained intact. The "transaction" (as Verizon calls it) closed on January 9, and the resulting mega-carrier was given until May 9 -- a week from Saturday -- to finish spinning off the required markets. Well, as we all know, companies this large aren't known for their agility, and sure enough, Verizon is asking for just a little more time to dot its i's and cross its t's. A "Request for Extension of Management Period" has been filed with the FCC on behalf of the companies asking for another 60 days, which means the divested markets would be up and running outside of Verizon's control by July 8 of this year. Verizon blames "the sheer size and complexity of the divestitures coupled with the current economic conditions" for the request, but seriously, can't they just throw this all up on eBay for, say, a 5- or 7-day auction and be done with it? No? [Warning: PDF link]

So, how does one successfully snatch away market share from Telstra and Optus? If you're Hutchison or Vodafone, you merge! Announced today, two of Australia's smaller operators have decided that an equal joint venture would be the best approach to moving on up, and while they aren't suggesting that the current economic conditions influenced the decision, many analysts are suggesting that the tie-up could help the newly formed VHA fend off adverse effects from slowed spending on mobile communications. Once together, the combined group will have a local market share of around 26 percent, and Hutchison Australia's current chief executive, Nigel Dews, has been chosen to lead the new venture. Under the agreement, VHA will market its products and services under the Vodafone brand, though it will retain exclusive rights to Hutchison's "3" brand in The Land Down Under.

[Via MobileBurn]

Can't say we saw this one coming. Out of seemingly nowhere, Nokia has up and acquired a privately held Berlin-based professional services and software company with 39 employees. As part of the agreement, Nokia will take on "substantially all assets of bit-side GmbH," and for some unexplained reason, that move will enable Nokia to "strengthen and accelerate its mobile development for Nokia Maps." According to Michael Halbherr, vice president and head of social location at Nokia: "Acquiring bit-side enables Nokia to offer consumers the world-leading mobile location applications, such as Maps, along with routing and navigation at an accelerated speed." It's stated that bit-side will be wrapped into Nokia's Services unit, but honestly, we're still left mostly in the dark as to what this all means. Dark and inscrutable, just how we like it.

[Via MobilityUpdate]

It didn't manage to block the Sprint / Clearwire merger, but iPCS is still scoring little victories for itself in its continued fight with Sprint over alleged violations of the exclusivity agreement it's had in place with the (much, much larger) carrier for nearly a decade. An Illinois court has now ruled that Sprint can't offer service in areas where iPCS has a presence, while Sprint's partners have their fate decided in the hallowed halls of justice starting March 30. iPCS covers seven states, so it's actually a pretty big blow to Sprint to have the footprint ganked from their icy clutches; guess they'll just have to make it up with Android-powered sub wins.

[Via Phone Scoop]

Following a good half year of courtship while the regulatory miscellany ran its course, Verizon's finally ready to take the plunge and call this $5.9 billion deal done. The combined juggernaut will amass a staggering 78 million subscribers, putting it roughly 3 million ahead of its closest rival, AT&T, though it'll do so at the cost of assuming some $22.9 billion in Alltel debt. Ultimately, the merger means some positions at Alltel headquarters in Little Rock, Arkansas will get axed -- but hey, AT&T Mobility HQ's just a stone's throw away in Atlanta, so Verizon's headcount loss could ultimately be AT&T's gain.

[Via Phone Scoop]

Man, this one has been a bumpy ride, and oddly enough, it's not even over. Well, it's over, but not over. The back-and-forth over whether or not BCE would be bought out has come to an abrupt halt, as auditor KPMG "determined that the company-to-be wouldn't pass a solvency test required as a condition of closing the deal." On the table was a $42.75-a-share cash offering by a group led by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, but all that's lost now. According to BCE Acquisition Group: "Because KPMG has concluded that a required test for the solvency opinion was not met, this mutual condition to completion of the acquisition could not be, and was not, satisfied." Here's where things get wonky; BCE is now vigorously attempting to procure a $1.2 billion "breakup fee" that the Teachers group doesn't agree with. We're still waiting to see if BCE will initiate litigation, but you can bet said Teachers organization ain't scared.

[Via mobilesyrup]

Yep, it's a done deal. On the same day Nokia chose to unveil its new flagship N97, the outfit also announced that it had "completed its offer to acquire software company Symbian Limited." As of now, "all conditions to Nokia's offer to acquire Symbian Limited have been satisfied and it has received valid acceptance of greater than 99.9% of the total Symbian shares that Nokia did not already own." Nokia's not saying much else about the changeover just yet, but we are told that every last Symbian employee is expected to wear a Nokia badge come February 1, 2009.

This one's been a long time in the making, but the deal is finally done. Clearwire and Sprint Nextel have gleefully announced that the transaction to combine their next-generation wireless internet businesses is complete, and beers are on the two of 'em this evening. On the real, the agreement dictates that Sprint hand over all of its 2.5GHz spectrum and WiMAX-related assets (including XOHM) to Clearwire; additionally, Clearwire has received a $3.2 billion cash infusion from Comcast, Intel, Time Warner Cable, Google and Bright House Networks. Details beyond that are scant, though we are told that the terms "originally announced on May 7, 2008" are the ones being abided by, and the new company will retain the Clearwire name and its Kirkland, Washington headquarters.

Earlier in the summer, some words from Verizon chief Ivan Seidenberg led us all to believe that he wanted his firm to take full control of Verizon Wireless. Now, Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao has made clear that his outfit had precisely zero plans to sell its 45% stake in VZW, though he did mention having an "open mind" about the future of said stake. Just in case that wasn't definitive enough for ya, he stressed that staying put was "the best thing" for Vodafone right now, and given just how many Storms are flying off of US shelves, we can't stand to disagree.

[Via mocoNews]

We've been hearing about a possible SK Telecom-Sprint tie-up since July of 2007, but if either firm ever hoped to actually tie the proverbial knot -- well, let's just say that ship has sailed. Given the weakening economy and the general tendency to resist taking risks right about now, the Korean giant has dropped its plans to partner with Sprint in any form or fashion. In related news, Sprint is looking to hop on the quickly expanding layoff bandwagon, but given its humongous Q3 loss, we suppose that's not totally illogical. We're told that the carrier is offering "voluntary buyout packages" to an unspecified number of employees, which is far more awesome than the "thanks, now get the hell out of here" line that's being handed down by so many other firms. Crazy times, we tell you.

[Via Boy Genius Report]