Alcatel

Alcatel is a French brand of mobile handsets owned by Finnish consumer electronics company Nokia and used under license by Chinese electronics company TCL Technology. The Alcatel brand was licensed in 2005 by former French electronics and telecommunications company Alcatel-Lucent to TCL for mobile phones and devices, and the current license expires at the end of 2024. Nokia acquired the assets of Alcatel-Lucent in 2016 and thus also inherited the licensing agreements for the Alcatel brand.

History

Former Alcatel One Touch logo

Alcatel Mobile Phones was established on 24 April 2004 as a joint venture between Alcatel-Lucent (45%) and TCL Corporation (55%). Alcatel originally started making mobile phones in late 1996.

In 2005, the joint venture was dissolved and TCL acquired Alcatel-Lucent's 45 percent share, and Alcatel Mobile Phones became a wholly owned subsidiary group of TCL. The brand name was licensed to TCL.

In 2010, Alcatel One Touch became the corporate brand. In February 2016, it was changed back to simply Alcatel and a new logo was introduced.

Company structure

TCL Mobile Limited (former name: T&A Mobile Phones Limited) is a member of TCL Communication listed on Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE: 2618) which was established in August 2004 by TCL Communication and Alcatel. TCL Mobile Limited manages three business units: Alcatel, TCL Mobile Phones and Brand Design Lab. TCL Communication was also the developer of BlackBerry devices from 2016 to 2020 when its contract with BlackBerry expired.