Ok Larry, here is a synopsis. (Part I)
CHANNELING
Ciena Winning Telecom Clients By Boosting Network Capacity
Like David against Goliath, Ciena has pitted itself against some collosal rivals, and it's holding strong.
--Driven by new contracts, Ciena's third quarter revenue exploded 563% to $112.2 million.
--The AT&T contract alone should add $500 million to revenue in '98. The deal, announced in June, makes Ciena the lead partner for AT&T's systems over a five-year period, nudging out giant Lucent Technologies Inc. as sole provider.
--For example, laying down more fiber would cost Sprint a whopping $100,000 per mile... by using Ciena's WDM systems costs were slashed to only $100 mile, he said.
--Lurking in the wings, though is behemoth Lucent Technologies. The company, which had $16 billion in sales in '96, just began shipping a comparable 16-channel WDM system to it's customers--mostly foreign one's like British Telecom.
--Still, given a heady market for WDM systems, there is enouggh business for everyone right now. "We don't think anyone can have a majority share of the market," said Kathy Szelag, a director of Lucent's optical networking unit. "Our goal is to hold 30%."
Szelag estimates that the WDM market now stands at $1.7 billion and is growing 30% a year. She expects it to expand to $5 billion by the year 2000.
--For now, Ciena and Lucent are the only games in town. Other players like Northern Telecom Ltd. and Pirelli SpA are at least one year behind, analysts say.
(Part II when I'm not so tired) |
