Yes, but "Nortel moves fast on fibre-optic investment"
Saturday, December 18, 1999
Nortel moves fast on
fibre-optic investment
Estimates market worth $35B by
2001
By ROBERT GIBBENS
The Financial Post
MONTREAL - Nortel Networks Corp. said
yesterday it is speeding up its massive
investment in fibre-optic products, the
fastest-growing sector of its global business, in
Montreal because of the explosion in Internet
traffic.
As a result of the expansion, the company
intends to hire over the next year nearly 1,500
engineers and technicians, bringing the total
Quebec payroll to well over 6,000.
The company broke ground yesterday on an
office extension and a new testing plant at its
new campus in suburban Saint Laurent,
together covering 500,000 square feet and
costing more than $120-million.
"Our objective is to triple optical products
capacity in 2000, expanding our older systems
manufacturing plant nearby in Saint Laurent and
linking it up with Qtera Corp., the newest
family member, whose fibre network
technology will help us hold our lead in the
Internet equipment market," said Ian Craig,
executive vice-president.
On Wednesday, Nortel acquired Qtera Corp.
of Boca Raton, Fla., for $3.25-billion (US).
Qtera is thought to possess a technology that
makes optical networks work more cheaply
across longer distances.
When Nortel first decided to centre its global
fibre-optic products business in Montreal
several years ago, it estimated the market at
$6-billion in 1999, he said. In fact it will be
$12-billion, rising to $35-billion in 2001 as
computer communications and e-commerce
mushroom.
To meet the demand, Nortel will continue to
invest heavily in Montreal, he said. Nortel's
products and competing optical products speed
digital transmission on fibre-optic lines
exponentially -- Nortel claims the
technological and market leadership.
John Roth, Nortel's chief executive, has been
a vocal critic of Canada's tax environment,
saying relatively lower income taxes in the
United States make it difficult for high-tech
firms to retain talent.
Brian McFadden, general manager of Nortel's
optical networks division, suggested the
so-called "brain drain" mostly affects
mid-career professionals and isn't as much of a
factor when luring young talent.
"We'll find most of the new hires from
Quebec universities and colleges and smaller
firms, and from other provinces and Europe.
But the problem is the mid-career level. We're
good at getting them in, but it's hard to hold
them when they see the much more favorable
environment in the U.S." |
