Joe,
You raise some good points, but the Core Builder line is very capable for what it does. Add to that a good price advantage (anywhere from 5% to 40%) over comparable CSCO equipment and you end up with a winner.
One of the reasons COMS says the don't want to compete is easy. Lul the enemy into believing that you aren't a threat. Then you hit them with a big bomb (the 9000.. which is interesting cause if you ever played Doom you would remember the BFG 9000, which was the most powerful weapon in the game). Actually it works so well I will use the term BFG9000 when referring to the CB9000 from now on ;-)
I have a feeling that if they are successful with their new
product transition in the next year, that getting inside
the backbone area is inevitable.
Exactly.. so why go in with an incomplete offering. I say go in all guns blazing and make sure there are lots of guns too.
. They eventually will compete
(and do well as you mentioned by price, etc.) on a head to head competition with
CSCO. It's hard to believe, but there
is a chance that COMS could "eat CSCO's lunch" in 1-3 years.
Well Joe, there is one reason I own COMS stock (well 2 really, on is it is terribly cheap), the other main reason is that every COMS product I have ever used is that much better than their competitors. Every COMS product is better that every CSCO product I have used (where direct comparisons are possible) by a factor of 2 or 3. Easier to setup, easier to maintain, fewer failures, better support, cheaper price. What more is there to offer. Add to this the BFG9000 and you have a killer line up.
The big boosting of COMS that I am doing should mean something too, considering I build networks, some are big ;-) (university for example). I really see COMS as having a huge advantage in every area they are in. A lot of it has to do with being founded by the guy that invented ethernet if you ask me ;-)
With regards to VOIP. Let me put it this way. COMS is now VERY well positioned to dominate IP backbones (the only ones that will count in 5-10 years). They have top of the line ATM and ethernet solutions. By the very virtue of being able to dominant the IP market and their strong analog to digital history, they are in a better position than CSCO, LU, or anyone else.
Let's face it folks, the traditional phone system backbone is dead. It is outdated and costly to maintain. It is horrible to design failover system, it is costly to route and inefficient in it's use of fiber/wireless/transmission medium. VOIP is the ONLY way to go.
Also if I can take the liberty of spouting off a little bit more, I will extrapolate a bit more. When VOIP becomes dominant, in say 10 years, your "phone line" will actually be a full blow ATM connection. Your phone will be digital and VOIP will be just like every other IP device. This has very SERIOUS ramifications for technologies like ADSL and Cable. When VOIP becomes dominant there will be no point for ADSL or Cable. You will have an ethernet jack in your wall.. UTP or Fiber I don't know.
This is one more reason why I see companies like QWST as good investments for the long haul. These are the companies that will provide you with the connection. They will provide the backbones. Your phone service will really be nothing more than a reseller and an IP directory.
I have heard many people wonder why IPv6 is so wide (something like 80 billion valid addresses)... well it because of technologies like VOIP and TVOIP (television over ip), etc. These technologies have been seen for the longest time by the "visionaries".. most people were just to blind to see it.
RE: China. Very interesting.. I will have to look into it.
Sorry for ranting and raving, but I had a lot to say.. let me know what you think ;-)
Steve |
