Telecoms by nature are global and one could argue Ericsson and Nokia both have global R&D and manufacturing - with a big and increasing part in China. The main reason for the consolidation in 2008 was imho. the preceeding concentration of telecom service providers putting pressure through their consolidated buying on the equipment providers triggering supplier consolidation.
Diversity thrives in environments with chaos and boundaries. Stable economic conditions, one single buyer with standardized buying rules are not helpful here. The nature of compromises driven by politics instead of facts (and thankfully so as concrete feedback for weapons means war) leads to pseudo differentiated products with poor cost benefit ratios. The recent developments in drone technology out of Ukraine are a testament what could be done with respect to creating a manufacturing ecosystem. Some of these insights are paid for dearly, some others may be of use also in peace times.
Diversity thrives in environments with chaos and boundaries. Stable economic conditions, one single buyer with standardized buying rules are not helpful here. The nature of compromises driven by politics instead of facts (and thankfully so as concrete feedback for weapons means war) leads to pseudo differentiated products with poor cost benefit ratios. The recent developments in drone technology out of Ukraine are a testament what could be done with respect to creating a manufacturing ecosystem. Some of these insights are paid for dearly, some others may be of use also in peace times.