TA and Thread,
Financial Post story makes it clear that the Fore reseller agreement is not a big deal. The big contract for ATM is a few months away. NN is in the running with Nortel, Lucent and Cisco. Nortel and Cisco have nothing which is proven to be carrier class - does anyone know the status of Lucent's product? Is it being used by any carrier yet?
Ian.
Friday, March 20, 1998
Newbridge loses out on Deutsche Telekom job
By JILL VARDY
The Financial Post
ÿOTTAWA - Shares in Newbridge Networks Corp. fell yesterday on news it didn't win a supply contract with Deutsche Telekom AG.
ÿBut the stock partly recovered as word got out the deal was not one the company or its analysts consider key to the future of its asynchronous transfer mode business.
ÿThe contract, which went to competitor Fore Systems Inc., was described by Newbridge as a "recycled reseller agreement" that allows Deutsche Telekom to sell Fore's ATM switch to its customers. The German company has a similar deal with Northern Telecom Ltd.
ÿIt was not one of several major ATM contracts due to be awarded by Deutsche Telekom, Cable & Wireless PLC and other major telecommunications companies in the months to come. Still, it rattled markets, which drove Newbridge stock down in Toronto and New York. The shares (NNC/TSE,NN/NYSE) fell sharply but recovered toward the end of the day, to close at $38.85, down $2 in Toronto and US$27 5/8, off 1 1/8 in New York.
ÿThe stock has been climbing steadily as anticipation grows about several major ATM deals.
ÿThose are expected to go to one of the leading suppliers of ATM equipment for wide-area networks, such as Newbridge, Nortel, Cisco Systems Corp. and Lucent Technologies Inc. Fore's strength is in developing ATM equipment for local area networks.
ÿNewbridge is banking on strong demand for its key ATM equipment, which is used as the backbone for high-speed communications networks, to help counter weak performance in other parts of its business. Sales of its ATM equipment have been growing at an annual rate of 60% to 70% in the past nine months. |
