I am "spamming" the board I realize-
On its own, Infinera struggled to compete against bigger optical vendors like Huawei, Nokia (NYSE: NOK), and Ciena (NYSE: CIEN). But after buying Coriant, Infinera will become the largest player in the disaggregated transponder market (which breaks up monolithic systems to prevent vendor lock-in) and the second largest provider of 100G+ (100G, 200G, and 400G) ports after Huawei.
The disaggregated transponder market is an inevitability, but it is anybody's guess on how fast we will get there. The merger places INFN in an even better position to disrupt other line system's installed base. "Open systems" have a compatibility challenge, but the more "open" there is, the more value "open" has, until operating legacy closed systems becomes an unacceptable liability. My guess is most people will start experimenting on a small scale, and at some point there will be a "tipping point" - When that happens is a guessing game- It does represent a long shot opportunity to disrupt Ciena, Huawei, and Juniper who are very entrenched with their "closed" customer base. |
