The telecommunication industry´s main characteristics are innovation and dynamics. In the last ten years, technological innovation changed the way people and companies connect themselves. Telecommunication companies establish more and more alliances and strategic networks in order to compete in the globalized world. The objective of this study is to contribute to research on strategic management of firms in alliances and networks that act globally in a turbulent environment, analyzing their impacts on the company´s behavior and performance. Its focus is the telecommunication industry, precisely, the network equipment vendors for mobile telephones. It includes three case studies of global market leading companies: NokiaSiemens, Ericsson and Cisco, and makes use of the case study methodology (YIN, 2002). The study bases itself on the assumption that it is important to consider the strategic implications of alliances and social networks, given their characteristics, at both firm and industry levels, including their global impacts, when considering the firm´s conduct and overall results. For the data collection public information was used, available on specific telecom and company websites. Also a survey, that made use of a structured questionnaire, and interviews were carried out to capture the perceptions of the firms´ executives regarding the companies and their global performance. The strategic analysis was conducted with the help of Macedo-Soares´s (2002) SNA - Strategic Network Analysis - tools, which include a model, methodology and reference lists with pertinent constructs (2002). Drawing upon these reference lists, new constructs were added for analyzing global aspects as well as change management ones. The study made evident that the companies in the network equipment market have more mature organizations where alliance and strategic network management are concerned. The three companies focused in the study perceive alliances and global networks as very important for their global strategies especially in terms of acquiring and building new competencies. The telecommunication sector is going through a transition from being product focused to being market oriented, hence the relevance of investigating the strategic change management dimension. In this respect, it should be noted that the study strongly suggested that the three companies at issue use networks and alliances also to help manage their strategic changes, in some cases through acquisitions that enhance their competencies and in others through alliances with their competitors, especially when the main goal is to create, grow or develop the market, mainly by way of technological innovation.