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

To: MU Lation who wrote (1801)	3/30/1998 5:20:00 PM
From: bill c.	Respond to of 12623

[ Bell Atlantic names 5 suppliers for $1.5 bln contract ] NEW YORK, March 30 (Reuters) - Bell Atlantic Corp. [NYSE:BEL - news] said Monday it chose five equipment suppliers to take part in plans to spend $1.5 billion over the next five years to upgrade its network capacity to handle both voice and data at high-speeds. In a statement, Bell Atlantic said it had selected Ciena Corp. (CIEN - news), DSC Communications Corp. (DIGI - news), Fujitsu Ltd.'s (OTC BB:FJTSY - news; 6702.T) Fujitsu Network Communications unit, Lucent Technologies Inc. (LU - news) and Tellabs Inc. (TLAB - news). ''This is primarily a growth and upgrade strategy...to make the network faster, better, stronger,'' said Mike Daigle, Bell Atlantic's director of network planning transport/circuit. ''Other local exchange carriers are coming into our region all the time. We're doing this for internal reasons, to have the current standards of technology and to position our network competitively,'' Daigle said. The network improvement project is just one initiative Bell Atlantic plans to make in the data area. The Baby Bell previously asked the Federal Communications Commission for permission to build a high-speed network. Bell Atlantic plans to spend in the range of $400 to $500 million with both Fujitsu and Lucent, $400 to $460 million with Tellabs and $200 to $260 million with DSC Communications over five years, Bell Atlantic spokesman Ells Edwards said. The spokesman said Lucent and Ciena are roughly splitting a contract worth $25 to $35 million over five years to supply equipment known as dense wave division multiplexers that multiply the capacity of high-traffic fiber optic networks. Edwards said the value of the contracts were based on current projections and could be revised upward or downward over time. The $1.5 billion project represents about five percent of Bell Atlantic's estimated capital spending over the next five years, Edwards and Daigle said. Under the agreements, Fujitsu will provide equipment used to handle high-speed traffic within metropolitan networks. DSC and Tellabs will supply digital cross connect systems that interconnect various regional networks. Ciena will provide multiplexers. Lucent will provide both multiplexers like Ciena and high speed metropolitan network equipment like Fujitsu. Contracts for other components, such as switches or loop access products, will be announced over time. Bell Atlantic said it continues to look at its supplier base and will award those contracts as the project progresses. biz.yahoo.com