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Technology Stocks : Ciena (CIEN) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Nevin S. who wrote (9066)	5/30/2000 9:44:00 PM
From: James Fulop	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 12623

>>what is your take on the rumors that LU is going to buy Chromatis? I'm especially curious about the reference to their "Metropolis" product that is in testing with Quest.<< First, here is an article from Smartmoney that is very favorable to Lucent... smartmoney.com >>Despite the high price tag for a company with less than $100 million in annual sales, now seems like a good time for Lucent to make the deal. Chris Nicoll, who has written favorably about Chromatis for market research firm Current Analysis, says he expects sales of Chromatis gear to reach $1 billion next year. Lucent would do well to bring this technology in-house before those sales make it even more expensive. As a supplier to large and small phone companies, acknowledges Lucent's Price, Chromatis looks like a perfect fit for the company Lucent is trying to become.<< But if you read the NY Times article, there sure seems to be something political going on.. >>But one person close to Lucent said that at least some of the company's less-senior technology employees are lobbying against the acquisition of Chromatis, suggesting instead Lucent acquire Astral Point Communications, based in Chelmsford, Mass. Lucent already has an agreement to sell Astral Point's equipment under the Lucent brand. A Lucent spokeswoman declined to comment.<< search3.nytimes.com As for Qwest, I am not sure what is going on there-Is this another product that is just being tested along with many others? Or is Chromatis another vendor alongside Ciena in a multi-vendor strategy? Or is the Chromatis product not competitive with the Ciena product in the metro space? I think it is the second, but who knows for sure (if anybody does, please feel free to chime in here...<g>) BTW if you have not read it yet, the white paper on the Chromatis product is worth a look.. lightreading.com