It’s another rebuilding year for Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU).

“Things are not off to a great start for Alcatel-Lucent,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Mark Sue wrote after the vendor’s first-quarter earnings report today. “Challenged segments remain carrier and enterprise, although there were some bright spots in IP and WCDMA. Application software grew in the mid-single-digit rate (at constant currency), while services continue to chug along, growing in the high teens. North America saw the biggest rate of revenue decline, down 28% year over year.”

A notable aspect of the company’s rebuilding is its reduction in research and development (R&D) spending, particularly in the back half of the year, as it looks to partners to help carry the load of innovation. Though Alcatel-Lucent’s R&D spending increased 3% sequentially in the first quarter, the vendor said it will decrease as the year goes on, particularly in the second half. more

Set-top box maker Entone today inked a deal with online content provider Vudu to bring the company’s over-the-top (OTT) video library to its line of IPTV STBs. This is Vudu’s first partnership to embed its software into a device other than its own standalone box. The idea is that instead of cutting the video cord for an oftentimes cheaper OTT Internet video service, consumers will remain loyal to their service provider by accessing the best of both worlds. more