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Technology Stocks : Nortel Networks (NT) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: telecomguy who wrote (6526)	8/13/2000 6:27:22 PM
From: The Phoenix	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 14638

Your comments don't demonstrate your supposed understanding of the carrier space. SONET and SDH don't intererwork today... for that matter two vendors SONET boxes don't neccessarily interoperate. So these de-facto/proprietary implementation have been around for a long time. This is precisely what MPLS or other competitive control plane technoligies will rip apart. If you think for a moment that NT is untouchable in the optical market you are in for a big surprise. OG

To: telecomguy who wrote (6526)	8/13/2000 9:16:49 PM
From: RetiredNow	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 14638

Yeah, that has me worried about Cisco's optical strategy. Usually in the tech world first mover advantage is hard to dislodge. However, I can't discount Cisco's prowess as a fast follower. They have almost perfected this art. I wonder though, you say that most carriers would prefer to buy all their network's products from a single vendor. This I tend to doubt. It seems to me what carriers want is the ability to mix and match so they don't become dependent on any one vendor. That's where standards come in. If there are no standards out there now, I guarantee you Cisco is out there trying to get people to work together on them. That is another area Cisco excels at - getting industries to work together on standards, then making products that are standards based. Cisco's customers have always pushed for this. Are you telling me that carriers are so different from all other companies in the world that they would prefer a proprietary solution and dependence on one company? That seems a bit farfetched to me. What seems more likely is that Nortel has the right products at the right time and is now in the midst of taking advantage of Roth's good call. But money follows the hot sectors and that money is in optics startups who are getting a piece of Nortel's market. The real question is whether Nortel will be as adept at staying a winner as Cisco has been. I hope so. Nortel's real hope is in stifling Cisco's advance. Because if Cisco gets ramped up and becomes a true competitor in this space, Nortel will be in trouble.