Chop, Chop, Nortel: Time to Part Yourself Out

There comes a time when, like people, a company is so burdened with its past that crafting a better future begins with starting over.

In the case of Nortel Networks Corp.(NT), that means making good on recent rumors and selling its three major divisions – wireless, enterprise and metro Ethernet – to rivals.

Such a move would accomplish two aims: it would create better shareholder value but, more importantly, a breakup would grant the entire telecom equipment industry a much-needed do-over – financially and operationally. The ratio of equipment makers to operator customers is too high – meaning, it’s past time to consolidate.