Many industry experts say the only solution for individual companies, to at least meet near-term demand, is merger and consolidation.

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Management ascribed half the shortfall to an inventory reduction at Sprint Nextel, the customer that pays the most for its phones and is having merger consolidation issues of its own.

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Japan's increasingly merger-friendly environment, its accounting reforms and banking consolidation may all help.

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The telecom industry has gone merger-mad, and what began as a healthy wave of consolidation is starting to sound like a bunch of retired men guessing which horse will win in the fifth at Aqueduct.

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Another way investors stand to benefit from industry consolidation is through the publicly traded small to mid sized investment banking boutiques with merger and acquisition and capital raising capability.

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