Pat,
thanks for your kind response. Vertical Systems publishes on a yearly basis. Ascend's major contracts did not begin shipping until CY1998, thus Vertical is a little behind. In Q2, as reported by both Cahners-InStat and Dell'oro, Ascend had overtaken NN. This matches my intuition, given the volume of contracts Ascend is deploying right now, vs. those being deployed by NN. Also note, when NN reports its ATM/FR numbers (the best way to consider it), it includes some mainstreet 3600 systems with frame capability. While NN is a strong player due to its formidable installed base, it is nonetheless behind Ascend in technology, and recent contract wins. In true jump ball situations, where incumbency is not a factor, Ascend has won 7 of 7 contracts awarded in the last 12 months or so. (Williams, Level3, Qwest, Frontier, Brooks Fiber, AT&T core ATM, NTT)
By the way, If you check back to my original post, I credited NN with DT. GTE has not put out a press release, but has installed over 100 nodes of Ascend ATM. I hadn't heard confirmation on Bell South International, but congratulations to NN sales if it is true. Contacts inside both MCI and WorldCom all but guarantee frame and ATM will move over to the Ascend based WorldCom network, but there has been no " official announcement" or major new shipments. |
