Nortel Networks said its customer traction “continues to grow” in the optical space, despite its bankrupt status.
The vendor continues to win deals for its 40G/100G Adaptive Optical Engine as service providers around the world upgrade the capacity of their network to meet increasing bandwidth requirements, it said. The gear maker just shipped its 1,000th 40gbps wavelength, it said at the Optical Fiber Communications Conference.
With 44 wins to date for its 40G solution, Nortel has top market share – 32 percent – in 40gbps shipments as of the fourth quarter of 2008, according to the Dell'Oro Group.
When it comes to 100gbps, Nortel has several field trials under its belt, including previously announced trials with Comcast Corp. and Verizon Communications Inc. in North America and Neos Networks in the United Kingdom.
"The true value of Nortel's optical solution to service providers is the simple migration path it provides from 10G to 40G to 100G, allowing customers to cost-effectively increase the capacity of their network by leveraging their existing equipment and fiber," said Philippe Morin, president, Metro Ethernet Networks, Nortel. "Increasingly, cost-conscious carriers are demanding solutions that will continue to add value as bandwidth demand grows."
The touting of its supremacy comes amid on-again, off-again rumors it will sell the Metro Ethernet division and calls by analysts to do just that.
