Tech Rumor of the Day: Ericsson

AT&T (T Quote) has a big old-fashioned 4G wireless equipment bakeoff in the works, and it's looking like Ericsson (ERIC Quote) may walk off with the blue ribbon, if speculation is correct.

It is still early in the decision process, but AT&T is apparently narrowing down its list, according to analysts' chatter. The main negotiations seem to be centered on China-based Huawei's proposals and AT&T's efforts to exact some price cuts from Ericsson, according to analysts.

The expected decision date is early June. And when the gavel comes down, Ericsson probably will be named the primary supplier to the long-term evolution (LTE) wireless network upgrades, say analysts. AT&T declined to comment.

"It would not be too surprising if Ericsson won the whole deal," Telecom Pragmatics analyst Sam Greenholtz wrote on his blog Monday. ...