This isn't exactly anything new. People have been tossing this idea around ever since Virtual Light came out in the early nineties, but they predominantly put the Sprawl Trilogy chronologically earlier than the Bridge Trilogy. Setting the issue of dating aside, since the dates aren't truly important to the characters or stories (Although Virtual Light is said to take place in 2005, the actual year is never mentioned in the book), Virtual Light is assumed to come later because the Nanotech shown in the book seems to be years in advance of any of the technology shown in The Sprawl.