In the early smartphone years, the big telecommunications companies, Nokia, Ericsson, Motorola, Seimens and others, formed a consortium to develop an operating system for smartphones called Symbian, to address convergence of telecommunications and technology albeit with the telecommunications bias.

FORBES: The Significance of Ericsson's Departure from Handsets

Finnish phone maker Nokia has become the latest foreign telecommunications company to face tax issues in India.

BBC: Nokia's India factory raided by tax officials

KARLSBAD, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Harman, the global market leader in high-end Infotainment and Audio Systems, is working together with Nokia, the pioneer in mobile telecommunications and the world's leading maker of mobile devices, to develop technology which seamlessly integrates smartphones into in-vehicle infotainment systems.

ENGADGET: Nokia partners with Harman to 'standardize' cellular infotainment

Siemens, under Chief Executive Peter Loscher, has said it will focus on energy, industry and health care, yet, the company is still wrestling with non-core and, in some cases, underperforming businesses like its telecommunications joint venture with Nokia and its Osram lighting business.

FORBES: Siemens Sends A Strong Signal On Growth

Specifically, the traditional telecommunications companies, such as Ericsson, Nokia and Motorola, seemed to resist convergence and adhere to the concept that voice is the killer app.

FORBES: The Significance of Ericsson's Departure from Handsets

U. member nations--is a hotbed of activity in telecommunications, spurred in great part by cellphone giant Nokia (nyse: NOK - news - people ).

FORBES: Venture Investing, Euro-Style

The European Union is investigating whether China illegally subsidised several of its telecommunications companies - including ZTE - to enable them to grow quickly and overtake the likes of Nokia and Alcatel.

BBC: FBI 'probes' ZTE trade deals with Iran